Evolution
by dragonfriend7738
Summary: Apparently Malchior isn't the only relic left from an ancient time. How will Raven react when her family shows up with dark promises for her future? Rated M for possible future content.
1. Chapter 1

Hi, welcome to my first 'published' work. I would like to take this moment out to thank two particular people who have pushed me a little harder than most others, and actually inspired me to write this piece.

Nga Aroha and Blackangeldust are both wonderful authors and nice people- they both responded quite avidly to my critiques of their stories, and those conversations in turn made me want to write again.

Please, feel free to critique and comment, the more honest the critique, the better I become, and the happier I am.

**I own neither the Teen Titans or any other copywrited materials contained within this story, the only thing I claim is the concept.**

* * *

Five teenagers look over a sprawling city from 2,000 feet in the air. From that height, the city seems quiet, almost peaceful. In the bay, a lonely island sports a giant building in the shape of a capital T, a testament to the vigilantes that keep the city safe from the forces that would destroy that peace.

"Is it not wondrous to be back at the home, my friends?" Starfire asks as the T-jet whines on its final approach to Titans Tower with Robin at the helm.

"We're not there yet," Raven replies dryly from her corner seat, not bothering to look up from her book. She smiles slightly at the overly energetic alien, knowing that the book would shield her face from view.

"Yeah, but we've been gone for so long, I wonder if anything has changed?" Beast Boy asks as he plasters himself against the window. Raven looks at him and is strangely reminded of a Garfield the Cat window toy she had seen in a car window. She chuckles into her book.

"For all your sarcasm, you seem rather happy Rae," Cyborg's voice startles the dark girl, and she looks behind her with a look akin to a child who's been caught with a hand in the cookie jar. Cy laughs at her expression. "Don't worry, you should be happy! We're Home!" With that exclamation, the jet flies into the cavern that doubles as a hangar bay.

***

The door to the giant T-shaped building opens, causing the systems within to restart after their long slumber. Beast Boy drops his luggage at the door, and throws himself onto the semi-circular couch, sighing in contentment.

"You look comfortable," Raven states as she floats by, her energy-shrouded luggage following behind her. Beast Boy grins at her and nods.

"Yep. There's nothing quite like coming home after a long trip saving the world, don't you think?" The green teen asks as he watches the lavender-haired young woman pass by. He was still feeling the high of being a key player to the defeat of the Brotherhood of Evil. Raven just sighs and attempts to ignore his aura of smugness.

"Don't get too cocky, Beast Boy," Robin chides as he boots up a computer to analyze the criminal activity of the city while the team had been dispersed to the four corners of the world. "Just because we won one battle does not mean that we have won the war."

"But Robin, we took down the Brotherhood of EVIL! That's about as 'cleansing the world of evil' as you can get!" Beast Boy exclaims from the couch. "I mean, come on! We did what not even the Doom Patrol could do! Isn't that some cause for celebration?" Robin shakes his head and looks at the energetic teen.

"You can celebrate all you want, but the job won't stop just because you do." Beast Boy jumps as the alarm sounds in the main room, and Robin turns to the screen. "There's a robbery in progress at a major jewelry store, let's go!" Robin explains as the team assembles in the lounge.

***

The titans form up outside the store to find it deserted, and almost no sign of entry.

"Dude, it's Saturday, why is the store closed?" Beast Boy asks.

"The owner is on vacation in Japan, and didn't have anyone to look after the store while he was gone." Robin explains as they open the unlocked door. As the group enters the dark store, a sound is heard from the shadows. Starfire jumps and shoots a star bolt at the source of the sound, but the light only reveals shifting shadows.

"It's good to see you guys back, I was wondering if seeing the wide world was going to make you stay away from little old Jump," a synthesized voice calls from the darkness. "I was starting to get a little bored from the wait." Robin's eyes narrow as he recognizes who the criminal must be.

"Red-X," he states through clenched teeth. "I was wondering when you were going to show up." The skull-faced thief steps out of the shadows and leans against a display of priceless jewelry.

"Hey now, I figured you'd have a warmer welcome for me. After all, I did help you not too long ago. What was inside that briefcase anyway?" He taps his chin in thought. "You know, if you let someone as incompetent as Ding Dong Daddy steal something that important to you, then it's no surprise that I could take this suit from you, isn't it?" His mask distorts in a smile as Robin fumes at the thief. The caped teen leaps at the taunting criminal, who sidesteps him completely, and stands before Starfire.

"Ah, my dear Starfire. It is truly a joy to see you again. Here, I have a gift for you, to commemorate this lovely occasion." He deftly dodges Robin's birdarangs and easily slips an emerald pendant around the alien bombshell's neck as he leaps away. He pauses just shy of the door and looks almost thoughtful. He snaps his fingers and turns away from the door just as Raven's black energy barrier forms around it. "That's what I forgot!" He teleports away, causing the charging Beast Boy and Cyborg to collide with each other. He reappears inches away from the startled Raven. "I have a gift for you as well, my dark little sorceress." He pulls an onyx and ruby raven-shaped brooch from one of his pouches and secures it to her cape, then simultaneously dodges her punch and Robin's kick. In midair, he looks at his wrist and grins beneath his mask as he lands on the countertop. "Well, as I don't bat for the opposing team, you boys will just have to enjoy my next little gift," he salutes the teens with two fingers before teleporting away- just as the Titans are startled by the sound of shattering glass.

"Jump City Police! Everyone freeze!"

* * *

So, that's the first chapter- the second is already complete, but I am going to wait until at least Sunday to post it; that'll give me time to work on chapter 3 and answer the never ending question: Who Is Reading?

Please, Read and Review.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm posting this a little earlier than previously planned, but I'm a little ahead of schedule with the next chapter so I figured I'd let this one out now.

As before, **I do not own the Teen Titans**.

If I did, then there would be more seasons- and they just might turn out something like this story. XP

* * *

The chaos following the police's arrival on scene lasts about an hour, not helped by Starfire's refusal to turn the emerald pendant over to the evidence collector, claiming that it was hers since Red-X had given it to her as a 'gift.'

"Robin, did you not explain to me before that a 'gift' is that which you present to a person, hoping that they would keep it? Why must I give this pretty necklace to this person when the Red-X gifted it to me?" Starfire asks with a painfully innocent look on her face. Raven groans in sympathy for the evidence collector as she hands over the onyx brooch.

"Star, it wasn't his to give to you. He probably stole it from the display here, and gave it to you as a fake 'gift' to distract us when the police came," the masked teen rubs the bridge of his nose as he gives his explanation to the green-eyed alien, swearing under his breath that he would make the thief feel three times the frustration that he was feeling now.

"It was actually a pretty slick move, and I'm kinda surprised that he pulled it off," Cyborg says as he approaches the small gathering. "What really interests me is that there doesn't seem to be anything missing here. I know that we can't be certain that's the case, but if he wasn't here to steal something, then why did he come?"

"I've asked the chief of police to forward me an inventory of anything that was disturbed here, it might help me track down the thief," Robin's business face is back, and he walks over to the team of investigators and starts talking to them.

"I believe that we are done here, so I am leaving. I'll see you all back at the tower." Raven enshrouds herself in darkness and teleports away, trusting that the rest of the team would be able to finish up the issues at the crime scene.

***

A man wearing dark jeans and a black shirt steps into a dusty shop in a shadowy corner of town. He approaches the desk and begins asking the shopkeeper questions when the door opens to reveal a young woman in tight-fitting blue jeans and a Flyleaf t-shirt. The shopkeeper stops talking to the stranger and waves to the girl.

"Welcome back, Miss Raven. I was wondering if you were going to return after your previous purchase."

"I was wondering the same thing myself, Mister Smith. The last thing you sold me was a little more than what you told me it was," Raven replies with a raised eyebrow.

"Now, miss, I tried to warn you that book was more than just a story. It's not my fault that you didn't believe me at the time." Raven smiles at the shady storeowner and looks at a pile of books near the door. "Do you have anything specific that you are looking for today?"

"Not particularly, I wanted to restock on some incense, and figured that I would look for some more books while I was in the neighborhood." She picks up a particularly dusty tome and coughs as the brown cloud engulfs her face. Her senses pick up the stranger's startled recognition of her; she disregards it, as his aura is not aggressive. "Do you have anything else that might catch my attention?" She raises her eyebrow at the merchant's predatory smile.

"That all depends on what you are interested in at the moment. However, I do believe that this person is also looking for something, and it would be quite rude of me to deprive him of service in favor of you, regardless of your reputation." The merchant turns to the man and tilts his head slightly to the left. "What exactly are you looking for, sir?"

The man's attention seems to be captured by the heroine rummaging through piles of dusty tomes, and he shakes his head as if a stray thought caught him suddenly.

"Nothing, actually. I believe that I might have been able to answer my question myself. Thank you, I apologize for disturbing your shop." His accent is rather odd, as if he is forcibly concentrating on speaking. He turns with one last look at the lavender-haired young woman, and walks out the door. The shopkeeper looks over to Raven and shrugs.

"He was kinda weird, don't you think?" Raven snorts at the question.

"Like I have any room to talk." She places two ancient tomes in front of the clerk and dusts off the titles. "I'd like these, please."

"Excellent choices, they are wonderful tales of places long since-"

"Can I pay for them, or are you going to read them to me?" Raven asks dryly as she pulls a plastic card from her jeans pocket.

"Yes, yes, impatient as always. I guess you can find out yourself, then." The man takes her card and rings up the purchase. "I hope you enjoy your reading, young lady."

"Not likely, but I will try," Raven replies, thinking of the noisy tower she is returning to.

***

Raven steps out of an oriental tea shop carrying a bag in each hand, wondering what kind of tirade Robin would go through when he found out that she had been out of the tower without his knowledge again. She really wanted to get back to read the books she had just purchased, but she wanted to avoid the noise of the tower equally. As she walks towards the waterfront area of the city, she almost misses the shift in the atmosphere. She turns around just in time to see Cinderblock emerge from a nearby bank, dragging the vault behind him.

"Do you ever learn?" She asks him pointlessly as she tosses her bags into a nearby corner. Cinderblock sees her run past him, and launches the vault at her, which is immediately enshrouded in dark energy, and levitated away. "What was the point of stealing the money if you were just going to give it to me?" Cinderblock replies with his typical roar, and rushes the lavender-eyed young woman. She rockets upward, levitating just out of the rocky vandal's reach, and rolls her eyes as her communicator goes off. "Yes, how can I help you Robin?" she asks mildly as she dodges a flying car.

"Cinderblock's attacking a downtown bank, where are you?" Robin's voice is muffled by his helmet and the sound of rushing wind; he must be on his R-cycle.

"Dealing with it," Raven replies as she returns a bus that Cinderblock threw at her. She ducks as he swings a light post at her. "Gotta go, see you soon, I guess." She closes the communicator and focuses on the fight before her. The stony criminal rushes at her, and she erects a barrier around herself. "Why do you keep showing up?" She asks him as she tries to think of a way to defeat the giant without damaging the surrounding area. She flinches as the behemoth slams two cars into her barrier, and glares at him. "Would you stop that?" She spots the light post that he had swung at her earlier, and magically launches it at him. It smashes against the back of his head, and he turns around, looking for what hit him. She takes the opportunity to escape his reach again, and looks for something to bind him with.

"Zettar, Notath, Azarai!" A blue burst of energy smashes into the blundering behemoth from behind, leaving him stunned and disoriented. Raven tries to follow the path of the energy back to its source, but finds only shadows. Not one to pass up on an opportunity, she focuses on the battered bus that lies a few yards from her position.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she chants her mantra, enshrouds the vehicle with dark energy, and wraps it around the stunned criminal. "That should hold you for now," she comments as she settles back to the ground. She dusts herself off and finds her bags of incense and tea just as the R-cycle and T-car pull into the fight scene.

"You took him down already?" Beast Boy asks as he steps out of the blue car.

"Great job, Raven," Robin remarks as he assesses the scene. "I didn't expect the fight to be over this soon."

"Wondrous, friend Raven! Your strength has increased greatly, do you not agree?" Starfire cries as she envelops the dark girl in a bone-crushing hug.

"Right, now let me go before you break my ribs," Raven replies in her usual monotone, her thoughts on the burst of energy that helped her earlier.

"You okay Rae?" Cyborg asks her, concern evident on his face.

"I'm fine, just a little tired." Robin looks at her and nods.

"You can get your rest after giving your report to the police. Cyborg and Starfire can help put the vault back in place afterward." Raven nods her thanks, and waits for the sirens to announce the arrival of the police.

* * *

And enter the mysterious one. I wonder if anyone can guess as to who it is?

As before, please read and review. I would love to know what you think about the story.


	3. Chapter 3

This story seems to be pretty well received; I want to thank both Nga Aroha and Blackangeldust for their reviews. Also, congratulations to Blackangeldust for the premier review of the story. I give you a cookie.

Blackangeldust: I'm glad that you think that I have kept the characters in their personas, I'm going to try my hardest to maintain that up until about the middle of the story; that's when they are going to start growing up, and their characters are going to change.

Nga Aroha: I believe I'm giving Red-X a worthy part in this chapter; he's showing his flair and allowing me to show off my mystery man. I'm sorry that he won't be in the story later, though. Unless I can think of a way to bring him back some other way, but he won't be wearing the mask in that case.

Everyone who faved and subscribed: Thank you for reading, I appreciate your time. Please feel free to tell me what you liked about the chapters. I can only improve from your inputs, and I am truly curious as to why you like my writing.

* * *

The sounds of tapping keys echoes around the room as several people access the public internet terminals in the Jump City library; tiny incessant noises that try the patience of a man leaning over a series of news articles on the city's resident superheroes.

Robberies, invasions from extraterrestrials, attempts to gain control of the city from ancient criminal organizations; the team of gifted teenagers were there to thwart them all. Their track record was indeed quite impressive; only a single instance of failure, and even then they managed to come back from obvious defeat to wrest the city back from the clutches of criminals. The man's opinion of the team was forced to be reconsidered as he read articles on the exploits of the team since its foundation nearly six years ago. He runs a hand through his short white hair in frustration. A host of information, but nothing pointing him towards what he knew he should be able to see. An instance one stormy night of a few witnesses reporting a giant black raven enveloping the tower four years ago, some strange loss of time throughout the city two years ago, but nothing indicating that what he sought was in the city. Suddenly his eyes settle upon a report from a little over three years ago. The stranger's eyes harden as he reads the report, then he places the articles back in their places and walks out of the library.

He walks down the stairs, lost in thought, and is caught off guard when someone taps him on the shoulder.

"Just a friendly bit of advice, leave the teen troublemakers alone." The white haired man turns to see an athletic man in a leather jacket walking away from him. The stranger looks over his shoulder with a smile. "They are inevitably more trouble than they are worth." The stranger looks away and turns a corner, lost in the crowded streets of the city. The white haired man clenches his fists and walks away, wishing that his task could be over and done with already.

* * *

Night enshrouds the city like a veil, its dark embrace held back by the bright lights and busy cars forever streaming through its streets. The white-haired man overlooks the city with a critical eye, contemplating where his newest target might be. His information led him to believe that his mark would be on the move this night, and he had positioned himself to be in a choice interception area.

"I hate easy jobs like this. The Titans never even showed up this time." A synthesized voice floats out of the near darkness of the roof that the white-haired stranger hid upon. He looks around and spots a silhouette of an athletic male looking over the city on the other side of the roof. He quickly shifts position, but isn't quite quiet enough. The newcomer looks up quickly. "Who's there?" He reaches down and retrieves an object from his utility belt. The object quickly reshapes into a distinctive X-shaped shuriken. "Show yourself!"

"It's not quite whom you are expecting, I'm sure," the white-haired stranger replies as he steps into the light of the city. "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not one of your Titans to play with." His voice is lilting, almost musical in its quality. "I do believe that you would be the one called 'Red-X,' correct?"

The thief shakes his head, as if to clear his thoughts. "Yeah, that's me. Who're you, and what do you want from me?"

"My name would be unimportant to you, and I want to know everything that you know about the Titans." The stranger's crystal blue eyes seem to burn with the reflected lights of the city.

"Ha! That's easy. Stay away from them. They're out of your league, trust me," Red-X laughs at the stranger before him and moves to walk past him. The stranger steps before him, a slight smile on his face. "Move out of my way, I've got a job to complete."

"That's funny, so do I, and as you are unable to provide the information I need, I will just have to find a way to use you to my advantage." The man's white hair starts to flutter, even though there is no breeze on the rooftop this evening.

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Red-X asks, tilting his head to the side to appraise the man standing before him. He could see no tools, weapons or other types of threatening objects on the man's plain civilian clothing. In fact, the only thing that seems distinctive about him are the three obviously early-renaissance era rings on his hands.

"I'll just have to take you out, and hope that increases my chances of getting their attention." The stranger's blue eyes burn white as his feet leave the ground. "I have heard of your abilities, so it would behoove you to not expect me to be an easy target." The man's rings glow with energy as a sword phases into existence in his hands. The masked thief snorts in amusement.

"You're just a newbie in town, and you think you can challenge me like this? Puh-lease. I'll teach you a thing or two about 'abilities.'" As he finishes his taunt, he launches a pair of red shuriken at the mysterious challenger and disappears. The swordsman deftly deflects the projectiles, and spins to parry the incoming blow from Red-X's wrist blade aimed at his back. As the two blades connect, Red vanishes again; leaving the challenger alone on the rooftop. The man suddenly jumps to the right, and a large X collides with the side of the air conditioning exhaust pipe he was standing in front of. Red-X laughs as he tosses a few more shuriken in the stranger's direction. "I'll admit, you're pretty good at jumping around like a rabbit, but surely you've got more than just that if you are going to be challenging me?"

The swordsman flicks the shuriken away with the tip of his blade and levels his gaze at his opponent. "My apologies, I was simply allowing you to test your abilities against mine. If you do not wish to engage in the pleasantries of single combat, then I can oblige you." He sets his stance and charges towards his masked target.

Red-X quickly brings up both of his wrist blades and attempts to block the incoming attack. He manages to deflect the blow, but both of his blades shatter under the force of the strike. His eyes widen in shock, and he quickly teleports out of melee range of his opponent.

"Metrion!" A black energy barrier surrounds the thief as soon as he appears, and he looks to see his opponent charging at him for a brutal two-handed strike against the barrier. The blade collides with the barrier and shatters it. The strength of the blow throws Red-X against a wall with unforgiving force. Red-X falls to one knee and shakes his head to clear it, when he looks up he sees his opponent standing before him with the tip of his blade pointed at the thief's head.

"Do you yield? Surely you realize that if I had not placed that barrier around you, you would be dead here." The strange swordsman lowers his blade and scrutinizes the thief. "Even you should be able to appreciate that much, despite your disregard for etiquette."

"I yield; I yield. What do you want me to do?" Red-X says as he places a hand on his knee, preparing to rise. As the thief speaks, the blade in the stranger's hand disappears and the white glow in his eyes fades into nothingness.

"I need you to forsake your thievery and turn yourself into the authorities. I will prepare a-" As the stranger speaks, Red-X launches a grappling X at him, knocking the unsuspecting swordsman off his feet and winding him.

"You really are naive, you know that?" Red-X laughs as he stands over his opponent. "No one gives two shits about that whole 'chivalry in battle' bull anymore. You really are a character, though. Who would have thought you'd completely drop your guard with just two words?" The stranger clamps his eyes shut and starts to shake violently as the thief taunts him. "Oh my, are you going to have a seizure? Maybe you really aren't cut for the hero gig. You should talk to a doctor before engaging in strenuous exercise, you know." An inhuman growl comes from the captive's throat as his eyes snap open. The thief takes an involuntary step back as he stares into golden reptilian orbs that burn with hatred.

"You dare mock me? You dare spit on my honor?! You are NOTHING! I WILL DESTROY YOU!"

The stranger bursts from his bonds with a roar that can be heard halfway across the city.

* * *

And that's the end of this chapter. Tell me what you think, please. I'd love to have your inputs.

How about Mr. Mysterious, any guesses as to who he is now?

Sorry for the relatively short chapters, but I'm aiming for about 1k words each, and I'm making it. Later chapters might be longer, but this way the story will last longer.


	4. Chapter 4

I want to thank you again for taking the time to read my story; I really appreciate it.

**Nga Aroha**: Do you have any other guesses? I'm thinking of having him meet the team next chapter. Hopefully my future chapters will keep you as intrigued as the last one did.

**Blackangeldust**: I'm glad that you like the story. Don't worry, I've decided to bring Red back, but he won't be wearing the mask. (Especially considering that he's lost it.) He might even become a regular character later.

**OnceUpunALegend**: Thank you for reviewing. I'm glad that you like the story, and I hope that you will find teh rest of it equally enjoyable.

**I do not own the Teen Titans.**/end disclaimer

* * *

Raven groans slightly as her consciousness rapidly rises from the depths of her slumber. Its ascent is so rapid that her dreams are quickly left in the darkness of her mind, taking with them any number of wishes and desires. Her lavender eyes blink rapidly in the sunlight streaming onto her pillow.

"Mmm… What time is it?" She looks to the clock and is shocked as it boldly proclaims the eighth hour of the day. "Dear Azar, did I really sleep that long?" She quickly rolls out of her bed, the soft cotton sheets sliding off of her lithe form. She quickly grabs her bathing supplies and teleports to the bathroom, having sensed all the other titans gathered in the kitchen. A mere word causes the items to hover and initiate their duties as she ponders her current state of mind. _What kind of dream was that?_ She wonders as she basks in the warm afterglow of her forgotten dream. She hasn't felt this peaceful since she left Azarath, and her sudden calm could not have been caused by the normal chaos of the night before; as she had gone to sleep cursing the creation of video games and her companion's incessant noise.

As her enchanted toothbrush completes its tour of her teeth, she spits out the foamy toothpaste in her mouth and steps into the standing shower, making sure to close the door; she could still remember the look on Robin's face when he accidentally walked in on Starfire taking a shower- no need to tempt a similar occurrence now. The steaming water eases the knotted muscles of her shoulders and relaxes her eternally tense brow. She sighs contentedly, enjoying this rarity of a pleasant morning. _Hopefully the rest of the day will be this nice. _ She smiles slightly at the thought. _I might even get a chance to start one of those books I bought yesterday. _She quickly finishes her shower and changes into her blue uniform. She silently floats down the stairs, slightly surprised to find that the others have already finished breakfast. Robin sits at the the table, reading his newspaper, a mug of coffee steaming next to him. He glances up at her as she prepares a cup of tea. Her left eyebrow rises sardonically. "What?"

"Sleep well?" he asks. She smiles slightly and nods. "Good, because we're up for training today. It's your turn at noon." Raven rolls her eyes and pours hot water into her mug. "Beast Boy and Cyborg are running through now; Star's their referee, if you want to take a look." Raven snorts her reply and sips from her cup.

"I'd rather watch the news. Who knows, there might be something worth hearing about today." She floats over to the super-wide screen tv and picks up the remote.

"Today promises to be bright and sunny, so be sure to wear your sunscreen. I'll definitely be taking a trip to the beach this afternoon, how about you Jean?" the weatherman congenially anounces to the camera, a weather slide shown behind him. The screen cuts over to a'media-perfect' woman with blonde hair, green eyes and a smile that shows way too many teeth.

"No, I think I'll be staying inside today, Sam. The sun doesn't agree with me very much, I burn too easily." The anchorwoman looks back at the camera and shuffles a few papers in front of her. "As many of you already know, we reported that the police claimed that the infamous thief Red-X was found in Jump Central Hospital's ICU earlier this morning with severe injuries. At that time, the police had no leads as to who had apprehended the criminal and caused such extravagant injury to him." At this news, Robin swiftly rises from the table and stands behind Raven on the couch. "We have recieved a video clip from an eye witness who claims to have seen the fight and recorded it on his cellphone. I must admit that this clip is a little hard to make out, but we can see several key moments of the fight, and well... Let's just que the video, shall we?"

The screen cuts to a jumpy video of a dark rooftop and a familiar masked figure. Red-X is seen struggling with a figure cloaked in shadows, being easily outclassed. Red-X is engulfed in a dark orb, and is knocked out of sight. After a few moments, the screen cuts back to the anchorwoman.

"Given this video evidence, and the reports of a bestial roar heard from the scene, we can only assume that Teen Titans were somehow involved in this event, if not entirely responsible for Red-X's brutal treatment. We have attempted to contact the team of teenage vigilantes, but they have not responded for comment at this time."

"It's a real shame, I never expected them to be capable of something like that, Jean." The woman's partner says as he turns to her. Raven turns the screen off in disgust, the warm feeling she had earlier replaced by a cold knot of apprehension deep within her gut.

"I don't like the looks of this." Raven turns to her friend and can almost taste the tension emanating from him. He nods and walks towards the door to his strategy room.

"Get the others, we need to find out what's going on."

* * *

"And that's as much as we know. I'm going to contact the media and give them the security vids from the front room, but I don't think that will be enough. We will probably all have to go to the police and give them formal statements." Robin explains to the team after briefing them on the situation.

"Who'd try to frame us?" Beastboy asks. "I mean, we just helped save the world from a majorly evil organization!" Cyborg turns to his green friend and puts a hand on his shoulder.

"We've been in this business for six years, B. It's only natural that we'd make some enemies, and someone's starting to fight dirty." Cyborg turns to Robin and smiles sadly. "If someone is out to make us into the bad guys, there's not really much we can do about it. Any testimonial I give is under question; polygraphs don't work on my systems, and any video evidence can be questioned because of my tech."

"Not to mention, Star's an alien, and Raven's got magic. If they're about to start a propaganda war against us, there's nothing we can do to stop them. That's why I'm going to be stoping individual patrols, effective immediately." Robin looks at the team, determination evident in the set of his jaw. "We have to regroup and find out exactly what is happening and who's behind this. Anyone who leaves will contact me, and noone will leave alone. The rest of the day is yours." The other members start to walk out of the room, a depressed feeling hovering over all of them. "Raven, wait. I need to talk to you." The blue-clad sorceress stops at the door and turns towards him.

"Yes?"

"I'm going to need you to keep an active lookour for any overly aggressive attitudes. If you feel anything, call me immediately. Do not engage them unless they are our usual suspects, understand?"

"I got it, but don't you think you might be over-reacting a little bit?" she asks, even though she already knows the answer to her question.

"We'll see if I am in a few days."

* * *

Battle lines are drawn, and noone knows who's on which side. Is the trouble that Robin sees really coming towards them? If so, who's behind it?

More will be revealed in the next chapter, so stay tuned.

Please read and review- I know you are out there, so just click the link and write something.


	5. Chapter 5

So, this update came rather quickly, but I've had more time to myself than normal.

**Blackangeldust**: Yeah, the media tries to be as anonymous as possible, so the more plain the better.

**Darkness-Lightness**: Thank you for reading, I'm hoping that you like the story.

**I do not own the Teen Titans**\end disclaimer.

* * *

The setting sun paints the city in glorious reds and golds, each towering building reflecting the glory of the fiery orb. Raven silently soars over the city, her mind passively picking up the emotions of every person within five miles. It was only thirty minutes into her patrol, but her migraine was already starting to creep in. She absently rubs her temples, wondering what the team was going to do.

Just as Cyborg and Robin predicted, the police had thrown out all but Robin's testimony; on the grounds that the rest were suspect to tampering due to the physiology of the various members. That was almost a week ago, and there had been no change in the media's position against the teens. It didn't help when they revealed that Red-X was the Olympic gold medalist Daniel Gerrard, and the injuries to his collarbone and legs would prevent him from ever competing again. The public had all but forgotten that he was an infamous thief; the media had spun it off as a tragic loss of a national champion.

"Raven, are you okay?" Cyborg's voice calls from her communicator. She sighs, realizing that she had been drifting aimlessly for the last few minutes.

"I'm fine. My migraine's coming back, though." She replies, continuing her sweep of the area.

"We can go back if you're not feeling up to things; it's almost as if the criminals have all decided to crawl into their holes and wait until the media's done with us, anyway." Cy's voice is full of resentment, and Raven grinds her teeth in frustration.

"No. We have a patrol to finish. I don't care what everyone else thinks, I will do my job." She suddenly picks up a spike of panicked fear and a strong sense of aggression coming from a few blocks away. "Hold on, I think we've got something. This way!" She flies off in the direction of the emotions, confident that Cyborg will be able to follow her from below.

The panicked fear suddenly shifts to relief, and the assailant is rendered unconscious. Raven's brow furrows in concentration, but she can't sense what has happened. She comes to a halt above the alley where the altercation took place, and sees a white-haired individual helping a woman of about twenty to her feet. The man hands her a purse, evidently hers, and escorts her out of the alley. When the woman is gone, he turns around and looks up at Raven.

"Good evening. I suppose you are here to detain this cretin?" he waves his hand in the general direction of a thug that is unconscious on a pile of trash. "I happened upon him assaulting the young lady there, and intervened."

Raven looks at the stranger curiously; she can see him clearly, but to her empathy it's as if he doesn't exist. She sends a slight mental probe towards him and runs up against a barrier stronger than anything she has encountered outside Azarath. The stranger frowns slightly, and tilts his head at her.

"Did I offend you somehow? If so, such was not my intent, and I apologize. However, I must request that you not attempt to gain access to my mind; it is not the safest of places for the uninvited." He bows slightly towards her and turns to leave.

"Wait," Raven calls. The stranger stops and looks up at her, an eyebrow quirked up in an unspoken question. "Who are you?" The stranger smiles slightly and starts to walk away.

"It is customary to supply your name when you request another's, is it not?" With those words, he turns the corner and is gone. The T-car pulls into the mouth of the alley, and Cyborg steps out, looking around curiously.

"So, what's going on, Rae?" He spots the thug in the corner and looks at his teammate. "Weren't you supposed to wait for me?" Raven shakes her head.

"I didn't do it. Someone got to him before I got here." Her gaze lingers on the spot that the stranger disappeared from.

"Really? Who?" Cyborg asks as he runs the thug's description through his database.

"I really don't know."

* * *

"So, that's what happened. It's a good thing the creep popped for a federal warrant, or the cops weren't going to accept him without a direct report from the victim. I swear, things are really going to shit nowadays." Cyborg summarizes to Robin in the briefing room. Raven leans broodingly against the wall, barely listening to the conversation. Something about the stranger had been oddly familiar, and she had been trying to figure it out for the rest of her patrol.

"Raven, was there anything that stood out about this guy? Anything you think could tip us off about him?" Robin asks, snapping her out of her reverie.

"I couldn't sense him at all. It was like he didn't exist to my empathy. When I tried to sense him, it was like slamming my head against a brick wall, and he noticed. I don't know who or what he is, but he's got the strongest mental blocks I've encountered this side of Azarath." She rubs her temples, wishing that her migraine would disappear.

"That's the only thing that you noticed? Surely you saw something else?" Robin pushes, determined to gather any information that he could on this mystery person. Raven grits her teeth and closes her eyes.

"He has short white hair, stands approximately five feet seven inches tall, is probably around a hundred and fifty pounds. His eyes are blue and he was wearing unremarkable civilian clothes. Any more questions? If not, I have a migraine the size of New York from filtering the emotions of half the freaking city, and I need to leave. If you need me, you know where to call. Good bye." Ignoring Cyborg's shocked look, and the hurt expression on Robin's face, she envelops herself in her soul shell and fazes into her room.

_That was probably not the smartest of moves,_ she thinks to herself as she chooses an outfit from her sparse collection of civilian clothes. "Maybe, but I really need to get some air." Raven replies aloud. As she realizes what she did she shakes her head. "Dear Azar, I must be going crazy; now I'm talking to myself." She quickly dons her clothes and mutters a minor glamor to alter her appearance to that of a less conspicuous individual and teleports to an alley near a cafe she had heard was dark enough to match her current mood.

She forces herself to block out the emotions of all the people around her, desperate to be alone in her mind. She spots the cafe by the dark, semi-gothic window ornaments and the overwhelming smell of incense emanating from the place. She enters, and is immediately greeted by a polite woman with raven black hair and stunning green eyes.

"How can I help ya today, hun?" the woman asks in a thick southern accent.

"Just looking for a little alone time, but I would greatly appreciate a cup of tea," Raven replies.

"Well, ya've definitely come to the right place for that. Here, there's a booth in the corner that's open, and I'll get ya a cup of my special blend in a flash. If ya need anything else, don't be afraid to ask; my name's Angela, and I'm here to help." The woman's easy smile and honest attitude soothes Raven's frayed nerves, and she smiles slightly in response.

"Thank you, I appreciate it." She walks over to the offered booth and sinks into the cushioned seat, sighing in contentment. Angela brings the tea over and starts talking about nothing in particular; her presence somehow comforting and unobtrusive to the troubled sorceress.

"So, hun, ya feelin better yet?" Angela asks as she refills Raven's cup for the third time. Raven smiles and nods, realizing suddenly that her migraine had disappeared sometime during the conversation. Angela smiles one of her heartwarming smiles and nods. "Then my job here is done." A couple walks into the cafe, waves at Angela and takes a seat. Angela waves back and turns back to Raven. "Just call me if ya need anything else, 'kay?"

"Actually, I need to be getting back, so I'd like my check, please." Raven asks, surprised at how easily she felt at peace in this place. Angela shakes her head and smiles.

"No worries, today's on the house for ya. It's not every day that I get a superhero in my cafe. Just make sure ya come back, ya hear?" The woman chuckles at the expression on Raven's face and taps the emerald pendant she wears. "This little bauble lets me see things as they truly are, so I knew ya for who ya were the moment ya stepped in, hun."

Raven blinks, at a loss for words and nods at the woman. She smiles slightly and steps out of the cafe, feeling as if she has just finished meditating for three hours. She decides to take a stroll through the city before returning to the Tower to explain her actions to Robin.

An explosion catches her off guard, the concussion knocking her off her feet and into a nearby wall. She shakes her head to clear her vision, and spots a familiar black and white outfit coming towards her.

"Dr. Light," she grinds her teeth in frustration. "How is it that you always pop up when I least want to see you?" Raven drops her glamor and rises above the ground.

"Oooh, look! If it isn't the very woman who personifies the darkness of the world! If I defeat you, then surely the truth of my ideals will be proven to the world!" Dr. Light exclaims when he recognizes Raven. "I will admit, though, that you took me by surprise. I never expected to see you out of the company of those who also worship the shadows." The crazed scientist fires twin blasts of light at the lavender-haired teenager, who barely manages to dodge.

"What do you mean?" Raven asks, trying to buy time as she activates the distress signal on her communicator.

"You and your ilk! You skulk in the shadows, never revealing your true selves, and claiming to live in the light! I will put all of you in your place, and show the world the true glory of the Light!" The man's exclamation is punctuated by a blast of light that neatly knocks Raven out of the sky. "Behold, the strength of one who is truly righteous!"

"Good sir, I must disagree with your view of righteousness." A voice calls from Raven's left. She picks herself up from the rubble of the explosion and sees the white-haired stranger advancing upon Dr. Light. "Surely no righteous person would attack a lady; nor would they damage such a fine city as this." A ring on the man's right hand glows slightly, and Raven can feel the pull of magic from the man.

"Infidel! You know nothing of the glory of the Light!" Dr. Light screeches at the stranger, and fires a large bolt of light at him. The stranger smiles as the bolt curves into the hand with the radiant ring. The light remains in his palm as a glowing orb, and the man looks into it with apparent curiosity. After a moment, he shakes his head sadly and launches the orb skyward.

"My good sir, I am afraid that you are the one who is lacking knowledge." The ring on his hand glows brighter and the man takes a martial stance. "It seems that I will be required to remedy that." He quickly dodges another poorly aimed blast and closes in on the bumbling doctor.

As the two exchange blows, a green raven lands next to the mesmerized sorceress.

"Raven, are you alright?" Beast Boy asks, concern evident on his face. Raven shakes herself out of her reverie, and looks around.

"I'm fine," she replies as she spots the other titans appearing on the scene.

"Raven! What's going on?" Robin asks as he jumps off of his R-cycle. His traffic-light outfit is especially gaudy when next to Raven's muted civilian clothes, and she winces at the bright colors. The other teens gather around, their attention diverted between the fight and Raven's explanation.

"Dr. Light showed up from nowhere, and when I was having trouble, this guy showed up and started helping." Raven explains, nearly mesmerized by the fight before her. The stranger seemed nearly able to predict the crazed doctor's attacks, and was pushing the light-bulb wearing madman back. She blinks as she sees a slight movement near the white-haired man's right ear. She looks closer and gasps in surprise.

"What is it? What do you see?" Robin asks. Raven starts to chuckle and points towards the combatants.

"Dr. Light is greatly outclassed here. He's using technology to create his light, and technology has its limits. Our mystery man, however, seems to have struck a bargain with a _spirit_ of light, and is just toying with him." As she speaks, she sees the spirit move towards the doctor and touch his outfit. All light within the suit immediately darkens, leaving the scientist unarmed and defenseless.

"What! My light!" The man exclaims as he starts hitting control buttons and turning knobs on his suit. "Where did it go?"

"You are beaten. Do you yield?" The white-haired stranger asks as he approaches his confused opponent. The scientist looks at the man with wild eyes.

"You demon! You stole my light! Leave me alone!" Dr. Light screams and runs away; right into the chest of a grinning Cyborg.

"Hi there, remember me?" Cyborg asks as he pops his knuckles.

"Please, help! Get him away from me!" Dr. Light pleads as he points a shaking finger at the white-haired man.

"Gladly." Cyborg replies as he places handcuffs on the outstretched hand. The doctor's eyes go wide as the reality of the situation sinks in, and he bows his head and visibly deflates as Cyborg loads him into his car.

"Good evening, I hope that I am not intruding." The stranger says to the group as he walks up to them. He bows to Starfire and turns to Raven, dipping his head in a greeting. "I hope that you are well, madam. It would displease me greatly to learn that such scum as that had harmed you." The team's eyes all widen in surprise as he addresses the sorceress. She looks at him curiously, wondering what his game was.

"No, I am fine, thank you." An idea struck her suddenly, and she opened her mouth to speak, but Robin was already talking.

"We are the Teen Titans. I am Robin, this is Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven. Over there with Dr. Light is Cyborg. I appreciate your assistance, but we were wondering who you are." Robin points out each member respectively, and the man nods in recognition. The stranger looks at each of the teens. He nods, as if affirming something to himself and turns to Robin with a smile.

"I am called Hunter," he replies, a hint of laughter in his voice. "I have heard of you and your team. It is indeed a heartwarming thing to learn of such heroic deeds performed by youthful people." He looks at his watch, and purses his lips. "As much as it would please me to continue our introduction, I have pressing matters to attend to elsewhere. Hopefully we may meet again under slightly better circumstances." Hunter bows to the team and calmly walks away.

"He was quite friendly, was he not?" Starfire asks.

"I don't like him, he's weird," Beast Boy replies. Raven snorts.

"Like you have any room to talk." Her eyes scan the area, something deep within her warning that there is something out of place with the scene.

"I have more questions to ask him. Raven, are you certain that he was using magic back there?" Robin asks, his eyes on the retreating Hunter.

"Yes. I'm not quite sure how he was doing it, but it was definitely magic."

She spots something moving in the wind, and she floats over to it. Her eyes widen in shock as she bends over to pick up the object.

"Raven, what is that?" Beast boy asks, drawing Robin's attention from the blathering Dr. Light to the dark sorceress. The boy wonder's eyes narrow as he instantly recognizes object in Raven's hands.

It is the tattered remains of a black mask holding a white skull design marked by a red x.

* * *

And so the mystery sorcerer is named, but whose side is he really on? What does the discovery of Red-X's mask mean for the team? Find out all this and more next chapter.

Which won't be posted until I see at least 5 reviews, by the way. That's not asking too much, is it?


	6. Chapter 6

So, I didn't get the five reviews I asked for; but this has been sitting on my desktop for four days, practically begging to be posted.

Once again, I want to thank you for taking the time to read my story. The number of hits alone lets me know that people are reading. (183 visitors last month.)

**Nga Aroha**: Thank you again for reviewing. I'm glad that you are enjoying the story. Hunter's hair is actually white. I'm trying to figure out what exactly caused that, but I'm probably going to have to make something up. Thanks again for reminding me about the filter, I had forgotten about it.

**Darkness-Lightness**: Thanks for reviewing, I really appreciate it. Don't worry, there will be romance and fairly soon. I had to set up the dramatic interplay between the characters first. Raven's not really the kind of girl to run headlong into a relationship, and I'm going to try and show that here.

**Blackangeldust**: Yes, Red is definitely getting the short end of the stick here, but I do plan on bringing him back sometime. I just haven't figured out how exactly to do that yet. I'm glad that you like Hunter, maybe you will like him more after the next chapter; then again, maybe not. I spent a lot of time thinking out Angela's cafe, and it's going to become an important part of the story later, so you'll be sure to see it again. I'm glad that you like it.

**DriftStar**: Thanks for the review and the fave, I appreciate it. Hunter's source of intelligence will be revealed later; as will exactly how much he knows about the team- which is a little more than you might think.

**I do not own the Teen Titans**/end disclaimer.

* * *

"And so the Teen Titan's recent escapade in downtown Jump caused an estimated fifteen thousand dollars in damages. The question we must be asking ourselves is this: Is it worth it? Do we need such destructive so called 'saviors' in our city?" The talk show host asks the screen while striking a gallant pose and the audience starts murmuring behind the camera. Robin turns the television off in disgust.

"It's getting worse, isn't it?" Cyborg asks as he walks in from the weight room.

"Much," Robin tosses the remote control onto the couch and starts pacing around the room. "I need to know more about this Hunter character."

"You think he's behind the media problem?" Beast Boy asks from the kitchen.

"I don't know what to think right now. All I know is that he's probably the one who took out Red-X; and that is what started this whole issue. I need to know more so I can figure out what's going on here." Robin stops pacing when Raven enters the common room.

"What's going on?" she asks, feeling the tension emanating from the trio.

"Raven, this Hunter guy was talking all weird to you. Do you know him from somewhere?" Beast Boy asks while preparing a plate of vegetables.

"He took out a thug that I was chasing the other day, and we exchanged a few words then, but I don't recall ever meeting him before. But…" She stares out towards the city, losing herself in her thoughts.

"But what Raven?" Robin asks, eager to obtain any information.

"There's something about him, I don't know. It feels like I should know him for some reason. Something about his eyes." Raven shakes her head and turns back to the door. "I'm going to meditate. Call if you need me." The three crime fighters nod, understanding that she needed to focus.

"Just let me know what it is that sets you off about him," Robin remarks to her retreating form.

* * *

Raven glides into her room, glad to be free of the oppressive emotions emanating from the rest of the team. Robin's tension has risen since she found the mask the day before, and he realized that he couldn't turn it over to the police without it being used against the team as incriminating evidence.

The dark sorceress sighs as she sits on her bed, thoughts occupied by the white-haired Hunter.

_Why does he seem so familiar?_ She wonders. _I know I've never seen him before, so why this nagging feeling that I'm missing something, something important?_ She clears her mind and focuses on her energy, hoping that her meditation will help her solve this puzzle.

"Azarath… Metrion…Zinthos," Raven chants her mantra, allowing her thoughts to slip from her mind. Darkness reaches up from her subconscious, soothing in its peace. Images from her past float up to greet her. A glimpse of an Azarathian prayer room, the horrified looks of the monks teaching her during one of her tantrums, the disappointed look on Azar's face, all these images rush through her mind. It seems as if her past is assaulting her. The memories then start to swirl around her, until a rough noise breaks her meditation.

"-en! Raven, answer or I'm going to open the door!" Robin's voice calls through the closed door. Raven shakes her head and walks over to the door, which slides open upon her command.

"What?" She asks, frustrated because she felt that she was on the verge of a discovery.

"You've got a call, it's Melvin. She says it's important, and will only speak to you." Robin's sentence is lost as Raven blows past him to reach the common room. She stops suddenly, as something catches her eye in the hallway.

A large black scale is resting in a corner, along with various other miscellaneous trophies from past battles. The sight of the scale evokes painful memories of her time with the suave manipulator who owned it. Raven's eyes widen as she remembers a page from the book that contained the beast. A page from which crystal blue eyes stared while a smooth voice whispered lies to her.

"I've got Beast Boy cleaning out the trophy room, seeing as how our patrols are limited." Robin comments as he finds Raven standing before the mess. A low moan escapes the girl as she falls to her knees. All the lights around Raven shatter as she feels something within her crack.

"Raven! What's wrong?" a dust-covered Beast Boy asks, running over to Raven as she slumps to the ground.

"I remember where I've seen Hunter before. He's Malchior."

* * *

Hunter silently strides through the cluttered hallway of the underground cathedral, wondering why the meeting place was to be here. As he walks, he notices the presence of two automated spies monitoring his progress. Apparently he wasn't trusted here.

He steps into the center of a cleared area, and raises a hand to shade his face when a powerful spotlight is placed upon his face. He can barely make out the silhouette of a man, and assumes that it is who he is looking for.

"I am called Hunter, would you happen to be the one known as Deathstroke the Terminator?" he asks, keeping his eyes shaded from the powerful light. The man laughs and steps closer as the light drops, allowing Hunter to lower his hand.

"I haven't been called that in years. Lately I've taken the name Slade. It makes me wonder, though. What would one who knows me to be the world's most notorious mercenary want?" Slade's trademark mask is evident, now that the light isn't blinding the magic user. Hunter tilts his head to the side and studies the mercenary before him.

"I have a favor to ask of you. I have heard of your recent exploits and seek your assistance in a matter of personal interest." Hunter stands in a relaxed, semi-military stance, nearly mirroring Slade's own. The masked mercenary laughs at Hunter's request.

"And why would I do you any favors? What have you done for me that would make me want to help you? I'm no longer a mercenary anyway, so you cannot buy my services." Slade circles the man before him, studying his posture and searching for some sign of weakness.

"If that is the case, what is it that you wish for me to do, if I were to still request your services?" Hunter asks, not bothering to watch as Slade walks around him. The mercenary's laugh echoes in the enclosed space.

"If you really seek my services, there is one thing that will guarantee them." Slade stops and looks Hunter in the eye. "Bring me the Teen Titans."

Hunter smiles slightly and looks Slade in the eye. "I can do that."

* * *

Is Hunter who Raven believes he is? Even if he isn't, what is he up to?

How will the Titans react to the alliance between Slade and Hunter?

Find out all this and more in the next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you very much for your quick responses. Three days and chapter six already sports the most hits out of all the other chapters; I guess I did something right that time.

Thank you for those who chose to review, I really do appreciate it.

I am posting this chapter early for two reasons: 1- it's been finished since sunday and has been begging me to be posted. 2- work is looking a little crazy and I don't know when my next opportunity to post it will be.

Forwarning: I am **not** a poet, I am a storyteller. Please forgive me my sucktastic attempts at poetry within this chapter. I tried something different, but it just didn't fit the way that I saw the character, so I had to change it. Hopefully I'll be able to come up with something better next time.

**I do not own the Titans**\end disclaimer.

* * *

The five super teens are gathered in the meeting room again, this time their attention is on Raven and a small black box she has procured from her room. She withdraws four silver rings and hands them to each member of the team.

"Wear these, they should help protect you from his magics, at least somewhat. He is a master spellcaster; so do not expect that he will go down easily." The other teens nod, accepting Raven's guidance, as she is the subject matter expert. She turns to Robin with a troubled look. "Are you sure that we can't get any of the other Titans to help? I don't like her much, but Jinx would be of assistance on this." Robin shakes his head.

"No, the others are all responding to natural disasters, and clearing out hostages in the Middle East right now. Besides, we don't know where Malchior is; there's no telling when he will pop up again. We'll just have to take him down by ourselves."

"We've done it before, we can do it again!" Beast Boy exclaims, attempting to raise Raven's spirits.

"That was when he had just been released from his curse and hadn't been able to recuperate yet. We don't know how long he's been out of that book, and he's definitely stronger now. Don't let your guard down, and if you see him, let us know immediately," Raven reminds him as she closes the black steel jewelry box. A wailing siren and flashing red lights throughout the tower accompany the click of the lock.

Cyborg checks his status board and grunts. "Plasmus has broken out again and is en route to the nuclear dump site just outside the city limits." Robin sets his jaw.

"This shouldn't take too long, then. Titans, go!" Raven teleports herself into the sky, finding her bearings while waiting for the rest of the team to exit the tower. Starfire joins her aloft momentarily.

"Friend Raven, why are you having the long face?" She pauses and thinks a moment. "I do not quite understand that phrase, as your face is not at all long, but Beast Boy said…"

"It's nothing Star. I'm just wondering about how Malchior got free, is all," Raven interrupts, unwilling to submit to the alien's naiveté.

"Indeed, I had thought that you had captured the dark dragon in the curse of the book. How could he be the Hunter person?" Starfire asks, hovering close in front of the sorceress. Before Raven could answer the alien princess, Starfire shoots off after the speeding T-car. "Hurry, friend Raven! You will not wish to be left behind!" Raven sighs and follows the flame-haired bombshell.

The team finds it relatively easy to find Plasmus, as the mutated man left behind a literal trail of his mess for the teens to follow. Raven finds the purple mass rolling down a wide street between two housing districts. Her eyes narrow as she sees the families within the buildings retreat from the windows at the appearance of the teen superheroes.

"We need to get him away from those buildings as soon as possible!" Robin states as he runs up next to Raven. The blue-cloaked girl nods.

"I'll handle this," she says as she glares in the direction of the interloper. She takes a cross-legged seat while floating and closes her eyes. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." A black form of Raven soars out from within her and rockets towards the moving mess. Without warning, Plasmus launches a piece of himself at the sorceress's body. Beast Boy tackles Raven out of the way, breaking her concentration and dispelling her soul form before it reaches the purple mass.

"It looks like he's gotten smarter than the last time we fought him," Cyborg says as he blasts the blob away from a house. "I don't think our normal tactics are going to work this time."

"We can't just let him go!" Beast boy exclaims after setting Raven down. Raven brushes herself off and looks around.

"We can't fight him here. There are too many civilians."

"Raven's right, we'll follow him until he gets to a place we can fight him." Robin states as he watches Plasmus.

The teens trail after the mutant; preventing him from doing any further damage and attempting to corral him in a direction away from the housing districts. The purple mass of goo trudges along, ignoring the team unless Raven attempts to knock him out again. Every time she attempts to launch her soul self at the interloper, he unerringly attacks her, causing her to lose her concentration and dispel her astral avatar.

After following the mutant for close to an hour, the team find themselves in an open intersection. Looking around, they find that the roads have been blocked off and that there is no pedestrian traffic in the area. The teens sense danger in the setup and take a defensive posture. A lilting, musical voice floats to the teens on the air.

"_Darkness comes;  
__Falling thoughts will rise to dreams,  
__Peace will follow."_

A flash of light envelops the clearing, blinding the team momentarily. As the light fades, the team notices that the rings on their hands are glowing slightly blue. Robin looks up and finds that Plasmus is asleep in the center of the clearing, and Hunter is kneeling over him. Hunter stands and brushes off his hands.

"I am intrigued. I did not anticipate that your entire team would be immune to that spell." His eyes widen as he notices the rings on the teen's hands, and he laughs. "I see; you have come prepared. I suppose that you must have anticipated this turn of events somehow." He turns to Raven and bows. "I congratulate you on your precognitive abilities, madam. However, I must request that you and your comrades cooperate with me and submit for a slight duration. I can guarantee you and your friend's safety if you comply." His voice resonates musically, and more than one member of the team finds their eyes getting heavy. Raven claps her hands, and the rings glow brighter.

"Stop your tricks, Malchior! We found you out and you will not get away!" The team shakes their head, the hypnotic effect of the spell caster's voice dispelled by the magic of Raven's rings. Hunter's eyes narrow as the team gets into formation.

"I see. If that is the way that you insist that this issue be concluded, then I have no choice but to comply and accept your challenge," the white-haired sorcerer states. He then lifts his hands and starts chanting in a foreign language.

"Titans, go!" Robin cries as he initiates the attack against the spell caster. The boy wonder launches a trio of his explosive birdarangs at the chanting sorcerer, closely followed by a blast of sonic energy from Cyborg's cannon. Beast boy shifts into a bull and charges into the dust caused by the blast, intent on flattening the team's opponent.

The dust clears to reveal Hunter sporting a long black scarf wrapped around his neck and covering his mouth. The sorcerer is steadfastly holding the struggling Beast Boy by the horns, successfully maintaining his hold on the shape shifter as he changes into an elephant, followed by a triceratops. The sorcerer then bodily lifts the changed teen off the ground and tosses him a few yards to the right, breathing heavily from the effort.

The sorcerer is immediately set upon by both Cyborg and Robin, the two crime fighters flawlessly engaging him in high-level martial arts. Hunter stands his ground, blocking each attack and attempting to counterattack. Every time he gains the upper hand against one opponent, the other comes and forces him onto the defensive once more. Slowly he is forced to retreat, sweat beading his brow and determination evident in his eye.

"Star, come here." Raven calls. Starfire turns her worried eye from the fight before her to observe Raven. The blue-clad sorceress had removed a stone from her belt and held it before her, enveloped in her energy.

"What do you need, friend Raven?" Starfire asks as she lands next to Raven. Raven causes the stone to levitate and holds it up, flat side facing her and Star.

"I want you to fire one of your starbolts through this, at Malchior. Wait until I give the signal, understand?"

"Yes. I will await your word, but will this not also hurt our friends?" Starfire asks, concern evident on her expressive face as she looks towards Robin.

"Don't worry, I've got it covered." Raven concentrates on the stone and imbues it with more of her energy, hoping that it would be enough to finally defeat the dragon. She then sends a pulse of energy down the miniscule connection between her mind and Robin's. She notices Robin turn slightly towards her and shouts at Starfire. "NOW!"

Starfire fires a large bolt of green energy through the stone, where it is captured and amplified. Within the stone, Starfire's amplified energy is joined by Raven's distilled energy and focused into a beam that shoots towards the trio of combatants. Sensing Raven's warning, Robin launches himself towards the ground, grabbing Cyborg and pulling him down with him. The beam soars over the prone teammates and strikes Hunter squarely in the chest with a deafening explosion. More dust is blown about, obscuring the team's view of their opponent once more.

"What in the world was that?" Beast Boy asks as he makes his way towards the two girls.

"That was awesome, Rae. You and Star did great!" Cyborg's praises cause Raven to turn a shade of pink, and she lifts the hood of her cloak to hide her discomfort.

"I am indeed surprised. It has been quite some time since I have been required to release my arsenal to this extent." Hunter's voice cuts through the dust and brings the premature celebration to an abrupt halt. The teens resume their defensive stance as the dust is blown away by a breeze to reveal the dark sorcerer standing defensively, his hands crossed before him.

Hunter's apparel has changed again; he is now sporting a pair of silver gauntlets that reach up his arms to guard his elbows, in addition to the black scarf that seems to have escaped the damage that is evident on the rest of his civilian clothing. "However, I should have expected this much from such a gifted group of individuals. I find that I must apologize for not entering this conflict with my full potential. However, I still do not wish to inflict irreparable harm to any of you, so I must limit myself to this." He pulls a slender wooden stick from within his scarf and holds it between his hands.

"Is that a wand?" Beast boy asks. "I thought that those were fake?" Raven's eyes go wide as she senses the sheer magical power held within the sliver of wood.

"Notath!" At Hunter's command word, the sliver of wood expands into an intricately carved staff that stands at six feet. Several gems of invaluable worth can be seen imbedded into various spell forms carved into the wood, causing the entire staff to sparkle with power. He spins the staff around himself expertly and faces the newly regrouped team. "Are you prepared?" He asks, his gauntleted hand shining with reflected sunlight.

"Titans, go!" Robin cries as the team launches themselves at the newly armed sorcerer, determined to take him down.

The teen's offense is lead by Beast Boy, who charges into the fray in the shape of a silverback gorilla. The green teenager is laid low by a sweeping kick to the ankles, followed by a swift strike to the temple with the staff. He shifts back to his original form, unconscious. Hunter wastes no time in engaging Robin next, wooden staff bouncing off metal in a series of parries and counter attacks. Without warning, Hunter launches himself into the air, using Robin's staff as a counterbalance to his own. He meets Starfire in midair and the two crash to the ground in a heap.

The sound of ringing metal can be heard throughout the clearing as Starfire pours her frustration and anger into the blows that Hunter blocks with his gauntleted arms. He suddenly shifts and, using Starfire's own momentum, tosses the alien princess into Cyborg. He opens his left hand, and the jeweled staff flies into it. He immediately spins the weapon around and blocks the black energy that Raven launched at him from across the clearing. As the black energy dissipates against the defenses of the staff, the gems within start to glow with eldritch energy.

Hunter's blue eyes start to glow white as he concentrates his own energy into the staff. He runs back into the fray, furiously attacking the startled Robin, who is barely able to block with his own staff. With an unintelligible battle cry Hunter shatters Robin's weapon and knocks the teenager flat with a blow to the chest.

"Zettar!" The sorcerer cries as he lands a final blow on the Titan's leader, rendering him unconscious. The staff emits a blue field of energy, blocking the sonic blast from Cyborg's cannon.

"Dammit! Can't we even hit this guy once?" Cyborg cries as he and Starfire attempt to combine their attacks to overcome their opponent. The warrior-mage skillfully deflects each blast with his staff, sending each burst of energy skyward. An inarticulate roar of unbridled rage from behind the sorcerer startles the three combatants. The three look back to find Raven rising off the ground, her eyes glowing red. "Uh oh. I don't think this is good." Cyborg mutters as he edges out of Raven's immediate view.

"How dare you! How dare you hurt my friends?" Raven's rage filled voice reminds both Starfire and Cyborg of the tenor of Trigon's voice. Dark tendrils of energy reach towards the sorcerer, who quickly erects a barrier around himself. The black ropes of energy quickly envelope the barrier, seeking a way to apprehend the target of Raven's rage.

"Quickly, you must retreat! If you do not vacate the area swiftly-" Hunter's warning to Cyborg is drowned out by another explosion of energy as Raven's rage filled magics break through his defenses. The explosion tears away the tendrils of energy, and knocks both Cyborg and Starfire back. They both strike nearby buildings and are rendered unconscious.

Raven's cries of rage are redoubled and Hunter can see two new sets of red eyes opening above her original set. He staggers to his feet and draws his breath, ignoring the growing sea of black tentacles that envelop him. He closes his eyes, and starts to chant, hoping that he was not too late to contain the demonic rage within the girl.

"_Softly now, the girl sings  
__The whispers of an Angel's wings.  
__Darkness threatens her very soul,  
__Where Evil wishes to take its toll.  
__But where she treads, with Goddess Light,  
__She fights Evil with all her might."_

As Hunter chants, his body begins to glow with a soft white light, dispelling the demonic energy around him. The glow intensifies until it comes in contact with Raven's enraged form, where it transfers from the sorcerer to Raven. Hunter falls to a knee, and looks up to see Raven shrinking and her red eyes returning to normal. As Raven reaches the ground, she slumps over and nearly falls, but is caught by the white haired sorcerer.

"I am very pleased that I was able to prevent you from doing something that you would inevitably regret later. I must admit that you gave me quite the scare, however." He smiles softly at Raven's confused expression.

"But you're Malchior…" Raven's voice is weak, her energy having been drained from her enraged outburst. Hunter's eyes harden at the name. "Why?"

"I kindly request that you not call me by that foul lizard's name. He is my sworn enemy, and I would like to have nothing more to do with him." Raven's eyes widen in shock at the sorcerer's words, but the world starts to dim around the edges of her vision, and she knows that her consciousness would not last much longer.

"Who?" she whispers, desperate to find the truth.

"My name is Rorek; Rorek of Nul. I am a hunter; and you, Lady Raven, are my quarry." Raven finds that surprise is beyond her grasp as she falls into the dark embrace of unconsciousness.

* * *

Now you know the true identity of the Mystery Spellcaster! Congratulations to those who guessed correctly; I give you a cookie.

Now that Rorek has the Titans, what does he plan to do with them? Why is he hunting Raven?

Find out these things and more in the next exciting episode of... wait, wrong thing.

Keep an eye out for the next chapter, kay?

P.S. Please read **and** review.


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry for the late update, but work and writer's block teamed up to kick my a$$. This chapter was painful for me to write, simply because I wanted so badly to get through it.

Once again, I'd like to thank those of you who took the time to read and review the last chapter, your time is greatly appreciated.

**I do not own the Teen Titans**\end disclaimer.

* * *

Footsteps echo against the walls of the forgotten cathedral, rebounding off of each other and confusing the ear. A man's shadow is cast high upon the wall, appearing much larger than life. A stone clatters down a walkway and the man turns into what once was the altar place. The man stops in the doorway and observes the view within.

"You're late," Slade remarks without turning towards the door, his gaze is captured by an object on the shattered altar before him. "I was under the assumption that it would be easy for you to bring them here." He finally turns around and faces the white-haired sorcerer before him. Hunter bows apologetically, wincing slightly as his side twinges in protest.

"They provided more of a challenge than I originally anticipated. It is no wonder that they have achieved the level of accomplishment that they have." He begins to roll out a scroll with complex symbols scribed onto it. Slade looks at it curiosity.

"What is this?" he asks, analyzing the scroll from a distance.

"It would have been quite a hindrance to come all this way while toting five unconscious people. I have placed the prizes in a secure location to await my summons," Hunter explains as he finishes unrolling the scroll. He whispers a command that causes the scroll to glow crimson. "Now I shall present you with the fruits of my hunt." He carves a symbol into the air and speaks a final word. There is a sound akin to a thunderclap and five bodies appear hovering above the scroll; cloths draped across their faces. The uniforms of the Teen Titans are obvious even in the dark cathedral.

"Mass matter transferal, very clever," Slade states as he approaches the floating teens. He attempts to lift the cloth placed over Robin's face but is stopped by a gesture from Hunter.

"Now, as I have abided by your requirements and brought the Titans to you, you are obliged to perform a duty to me. This is what you agreed to earlier, is it not?" Hunter asks, his musical voice resounding off the crumbling walls.

"Indeed, I do recall saying that. What is it that you want from me?" Slade asks, peering at the strange sorcerer.

"I want your mask," Hunter's blunt reply sends Slade reeling.

"What?"

"My request is that you remove your mask, reveal your true identity and submit to the authorities. As I have performed the duty requested of me, you are honor bound to pay the service price of that duty. This is the price I set." Hunter stares at the mercenary dispassionately as he speaks. His eyebrows rise at Slade's ensuing laughter.

"You seriously think that I would just give up now? Just because you brought me five would-be superheroes?" Slade turns around and starts to walk away. "If that is your request then I deny your service and refuse to pay the cost." Hunter smiles at Slade's reply.

"Very well then. If that is your answer, I shall revoke my service." Hunter snaps his fingers and the cloths on the teen crime fighters faces curl in on themselves and disappear. The Titans all drop to their feet facing Slade.

"Wha-?" Beast Boy rubs his eyes sleepily.

"Guys! It's Slade!" Cyborg exclaims as he spots the surprised mercenary. He quickly brings up his cannon and fires. Slade doges away, giving the teens an opportunity to group together. Raven finds herself in the middle of the group and tries to look around but Starfire and Robin block her view.

"Raven, concentrate!" Robin reprimands her, determined to defeat his long-time foe. Raven nods and turns towards Slade.

"Dudes, weren't we just fighting that Hunter guy?" Beast Boy asks. "How'd we get here?"

"I don't know, but we aren't going to let Slade get away again," Robin's steadfast determination rallies his team, and they shift into attack position. "Titans, go!"

Slade dodges a combo blast from Cyborg and Starfire; ducks under a leaping Beast Boy-turned-tiger and engages Robin in close combat.

"Your team has improved, boy." Slade's smooth voice shows no sign of effort or concern as he speaks to his opponent. "But it will take more than just slight improvements for you to beat me."

"We're going to take you down right here, Slade!" Robin punctuates his exclamation with a powerful roundhouse that Slade easily deflects. The criminal flows directly from his block into a series of back flips that steer him away from Starfire's strafing starbolts.

Raven stands away from the melee and looks around. Her empathy reveals that their opponent is the true Slade this time, but she knows from experience that the mercenary never fights alone. She hears the sounds of a fight from around a corner and takes a moment to look. Her eyes widen in shock as she witnesses Hunter's wiry form attacking a dozen of Slade's security drones.

A cry from behind her forces her attention back to her teammates, who have all been driven back by Slade. As she returns to the battle, Slade throws Cyborg into a wall, where he stays; sparks jumping from his joints.

"As I said earlier, your petty improvements are not enough for you to defeat me." Slade turns to depart the cathedral, but a monotone voice from behind him stops him short.

"This fight is far from over. I believe that I still owe you from the last time we met, Slade." Raven hovers high above the ground, her head nearly touching the cracked ceiling above. Her eyes shine with power, and black orbs engulf her hands.

"Ah, there you are. I had noticed that you were staying out of this fight. I wonder; was it the nightmares that kept you away?" Slade asks, laughing slightly behind his mask.

"You are the one who will be having nightmares, Slade!" Raven cries as she launches her attack. Slade seems to dance between her attacks, deftly dodging each energy blast and thrown object. He jumps between two pillars and proceeds to use them to get up to Raven's level.

"It seems like you are running out of options, little Raven," Slade says as he leaps at Raven from the pillars. "Just give it up. You know you can't beat me." He is close enough that Raven can smell the oil he uses to condition his leather outfit. He stops just short of Raven, and starts to fall. Looking down, he sees Robin's birdarang attached to his ankle, with the teen crime fighter tugging on the attached line.

Slade curses and grabs the startled Raven. The two fall together, and Slade positions himself to fall on top of the sorceress. Dirt and debris rise up in a cloud as the pair lands with a crash. Slade steps out of the cloud and walks towards Robin. "You're going to regret that."

Raven picks herself up from the impact site, holding her ribs close. _I hope that didn't break anything,_ She thinks to herself as she watches Slade pummel Robin into a corner. A flash of silver catches her eye. She realizes that Robin is still wearing the ring she had given to him earlier that morning.

"_Only you will be able to release the power needed to defeat your opponent,"_ a voice echoes from her deepest thoughts. Raven sets her jaw and concentrates on the ring on Robin's hand.

"Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos." As she chants, she begins to feel a deep rumble from beneath her. She ignores the sensation and continues her chant.

* * *

"It is quite a shame that you had to find me in such a foul mood, young Robin," Slade states as he continues to drive the young crime fighter backwards. Each hit is blocked expertly, but Slade manages to power through, regardless.

_If only I were stronger!_ Robin cries mentally, his face betraying none of his inner turmoil. His blocks, while mostly ineffective, still manage to dampen the damage done to him. He suddenly notices that the ring on his hand is pulsating and he glances down at it.

"Don't take your eyes off your opponent, it's a sure way to get hurt," Slade says as he delivers a solid right hook to Robin's jaw, sending the teenager flying into a pile of rubble. He hears a sigh from within the settling dust and looks closer.

"It appears that not all the cards have been played yet, Slade," Robin says as he rises from the broken stones. The aches and pains from the fight seem to have disappeared, leaving him refreshed and feeling stronger than he ever has. The silver ring on his right hand glows with a russet light, revealing to him the source of his new strength. "Let's try this again."

* * *

Breathing heavily, Raven looks up, and sees that Robin has taken advantage of the ring, his newly augmented strength nearly equal to that of Slade's. Still, she realizes that he will be unable to defeat the criminal mastermind alone. Glancing over, she sees Starfire struggling to rise from her makeshift bed of stone. Ignoring her growing weakness, Raven concentrates on her friend's ring and closes her eyes once more.

* * *

Robin's frustration rises as he nearly fights Slade to a standstill. His increased strength allows him to defeat two out of every three attacks that his opponent brings upon him, but that is not enough. His mind rushes furiously, attempting to find a way to outmaneuver his opponent, when he is knocked backwards by a bright green flash. He catches himself expertly, rolling to his feet and looking for his opponent once more. Slade rises from the ground, gravel and dust sliding off of his singed leather uniform. Glaring, he turns around to face his second attacker.

Starfire hovers boldly in the middle of the room, her hands surrounded by luminous green orbs. Robin notices a slight discoloration in one, and realizes that her ring is also glowing.

"It looks like we're going into another round then," Slade states as he dusts himself off. He is quickly knocked back as Starfire lands a solid roundhouse kick on him so swiftly he can barely realize she is moving.

"I seem to have become much faster," Starfire states as she floats over to Robin, who nods.

"I think Raven might have something to do with that," Robin replies. He glances over to the sorceress, who is breathing heavily.

* * *

Raven looks up, feeling as if the world is weighing her down. Her breath comes in ragged gasps, and her vision shifts into doubles randomly. That last enhancement has brought her nearly to the brink. _Let's hope that is enough for them,_ she thinks to herself. She notices Robin's worried look, and smiles weakly at him. _Ignore me, you fool. Slade's not out yet._ Sure enough, there is that masked bastard attacking the two again.

She watches as Slade outmaneuvers Robin and overpowers Starfire, taunting the two of them; tricking them into making mistakes. She sighs softly, knowing that what she has given is not enough. Maybe if the two were older, more wise, but not now. She glances over to her two other incapacitated teammates. She knows that if she is to heal the unconscious Beast Boy, she won't have enough energy left to live. _I hope that I have enough for Cy, then._ She closes her eyes and reaches deeper than she ever has.

"Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos!" Electricity arcs from her body to the ring on Cyborg's finger, dancing madly as she pours her energy into it. The display shocks all three combatants into momentary stillness.

Cyborg groans as energy pours into him, rebooting his systems and sealing off his damaged circuits. He opens his eyes and stares at the lightning bolt connecting him to Raven. The energy cuts off abruptly, and Raven's eyes roll into the back of her head as she slumps to the ground.

"Raven!" He runs over to the girl that has become his little sister and shakes her shoulder. "Dear god, tell me she's okay," he mutters to himself as he scans for her vital signs. A vivid flash of his mother's face after the car accident runs through his mind. He shakes his head to shake the unwelcome memory and sighs in relief as his scanner picks up Raven's fluttering heartbeat. He sets her down and looks up at Robin, who has rejoined the fight with Slade. Cyborg stands, anger filling him for the damages done to his family from this criminal. He advances upon the fighting trio, his right arm already morphed into his trademark cannon.

* * *

Slade is hard pressed to defeat the newly determined duo of Starfire and Robin, finding that his previous successes of taunts and maneuvers are failing him. The only things allowing him to keep the upper hand are his inhuman reflexes and healing abilities. He executes a complex series of maneuvers against both his opponents, using both his strength and speed to full advantage. He manages to knock Starfire into Robin and backs away, attempting to gain time to think of a way to disengage from the conflict. A flash of blue light from behind is the only warning he gets before his world goes black.

"Booyah, mother fucker," Cyborg says as Slade drops to the ground. Robin quickly hog-ties the criminal while Starfire looks at Cyborg curiously. "What?"

"Friend Cyborg, how did you turn gold?" she asks, her head tilted slightly in confusion. Cyborg looks down at himself and finds that the familiar blue circuitry within him has started glowing golden. His eyes go wide as he sees the change.

"What in the world?!" he starts checking his system monitor, only to find it broken. Robin glances up from securing their opponent and smiles.

"You might want to look at your ring," he says calmly. Cyborg complies, and finds that the silver ring is glowing with a golden light. As he watches, the light fades, and the ring crumbles to dust on his hand. The other two seem to deflate a little as their rings also crumble. "It looks like the help from Raven's come to an end."

"We could have used it a little longer," the tone in Cyborg's voice causes Robin to look up and follow his friend's gaze. They find Hunter cradling the unconscious Raven, holding a hand to her forehead and chanting softly. "You get away from her!" Cyborg yells as he fires a sonic blast at the rouge sorcerer. The blue blast dissipates against a shield three feet from the white haired man. Hunter looks up and smiles sadly.

"I suppose this was inevitable, but it saddens me nonetheless." He gently places Raven back on the ground, stands and walks away from the group of crime fighters. He stops and turns to face the group. "I ask only that you keep yourselves and her safe for as long as you can. The storm approaches, and you will be unable to stop it." He turned again and walked away without looking back. Cyborg quickly rushes to the unconscious Raven and moves her to the group.

"He's an odd one." Slade's voice startles the team, and Robin quickly turns to face the criminal. "Never did learn what he was truly going for."

"What do you mean?" Robin asks.

"He's been taking out the major criminals of Jump for the past month or so. I knew it was him when he made contact with me, but I though I'd be able to maneuver him into a losing position. Never thought he'd manage to blow that into my face, though." Slade coughs into his mask and looks around. "Could you take this thing off, it's stifling." He laughs at the teenager's reactions. "What? The gig's up. I'm strong, but not strong enough to break the titanium bands that you tied me with, and you're going to end up taking it off anyway. It's been a good run, but I'm getting too old for this kind of thing." Robin kneels in front of the defeated criminal and reaches to take the mask. As he does, Starfire lets out a surprised sound and he looks up, to find that the entire group is surrounded by Slade's robotic henchmen. "Belay that, I might be able to get out of this anyway." Robin grits his teeth in frustration, but otherwise ignores his incapacitated foe.

"Are you ready for this, Robin?" Cyborg asks as he turns his left arm into a cannon to match his right. Robin nods as he brings out his titanium staff. Starfire ignites her green orbs around her fists and the three take up defensive stances around Raven's unconscious body.

"Titans, go!" As the three launch into the attack, an electric shock runs through the circle of machines, immobilizing them. As the sparking machines fall, the three teens see Beast Boy morph back from an electric eel and approach the group, rubbing his head and looking around with a puzzled expression.

"What'd I miss?" he asks the team.

* * *

"So, tell me what you know about Hunter, Slade," Robin asks the unmasked mercenary. The Titan's long time foe sits at a desk across the masked teenager with a bored expression on his face. He scratches his silvered goatee on his shoulder, as his hands are still tied behind him.

"I told you what I knew back in the citadel. Word came to me about a month ago of an outside force methodically taking out the leaders of the Jump criminals. It started small, some gangs here, a mob boss there, but eventually got up to the names you would notice. Mumbo, Ding Dong Daddy, Mad Mod, you get the idea. You and your team got implicated somehow when he took out Red-X a couple of weeks ago, and shortly afterwards I was contacted by him directly."

The masked teenager scrutinizes his long-time opponent while he speaks. Slade's hair has long since lost its original color, shining silver in the light. He looks to be about forty-five, but admits to being over fifty. His right eye is covered by an eye patch, and he laughs when anyone asks him to remove it. Apparently he lost it in a domestic incident that he is unwilling to talk about. Robin glances at the monitor and sighs.

"The graph says that you are telling the truth, but there's still no way that I can trust your word." Slade smiles slightly and shakes his head. "Do you know anything-" he stops speaking as Raven walks into the interrogation room, looking paler than usual; if that is even possible. "Raven, are you sure you should be up now?" he asks, concern tinting his voice. She nods and looks at Slade.

"I figured you'd be younger," she says to him. Slade smiles wryly and dips his head.

"Well, playing with kids like you tend to keep a man younger than his years."

"I'd bet. I understand that Hunter was playing you like a flute, must sting your pride a bit," Raven leans against the doorframe and watches him.

"It happens to the best of us at times. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's been manipulated by the enemy before." Slade looks between Raven and Robin as he speaks. Robin grinds his teeth in frustration and Raven smiles thinly.

"He's told us everything we're going to get from him, Robin," she says as she turns to depart. "It's time to turn him over to the police." Robin nods as she closes the door behind her.

* * *

_Why?_ Raven asks herself as she walks to her room. _He had every opportunity in the world to capture or kill me. Why did he let me go?_ The words that he had whispered to her while calling her fading spirit back echoes in her mind.

"_The storm is coming, and only you can stop it."_

_What storm?_ She has so many questions, but no answers. Something pokes her in the side as she leans against the wall to think. She reaches down and finds a card of thick parchment attached to her belt. A silver long sword is embroidered onto the front, and the back is marked by flowing script. Her eyes narrow as she reads the words.

Cyborg stops her as she storms towards the door.

"Rae, you are in no condition to leave, I can't let you go." He holds her still with a heavy hand. She turns and stares him in the eye.

"I'm leaving, and you can't stop me." The look in her eye tells him that she's willing to 'port him away if he doesn't listen. He lifts his hand and sighs.

"Fine then. Where are we going?" he asks as he leads her towards the T-car.

"To get answers." She hands him the card. His eyes widen as he reads the words on the back.

_Search for me under the wings of the Fallen Angel  
__ -Your Hunter._

* * *

Alright, a note about Slade. Slade is Deathstroke the Terminator (aka the Terminator, aka Slade Wilson) He first shows up in the comics in 1980, and he's no youngling then. Considering that he's been around for 20 years since, I'd guess that he'd be pushing 60 now. He has superior strength, reflexes, healing abilities and can use up to 90% of his brain at a time. Add to that the fact that he's been fighting super heroes for the last 25 years, and he's a tough nut to crack. He's also probably looking to retire sometime soon, hence the manner of his surrender. He's just plain tired about now.

Enough information on Slade? Hope so, 'cause if you want any more you're going to need to either read the comics or look it up online.

So, what is Hunter's real objective? Why the double backstab? Is the card a trap? If so, why did he let Rae go in the first place? What questions will Rae ask?

Find all this out in the next installation...

Which should be out faster than this one was.

Hopefully. If work doesn't conspire against me.

As always, Read and Review please.


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry for the long wait, work took me out for a while. I had planned on writing more than just this, but things got really busy.

Once again I would like to thank all of you for taking the time to read this (and leave reviews, for those who do) I really do appreciate it, and hope that you find the story as enjoyable as I do.

This chapter will probably answer a few questions you all have had about Rorek, and hopefully make you start thinking about other things as well.

As usual, **I do not own the Teen Titans**/end disclaimer.

* * *

The T-car weaves smoothly through the early evening traffic cluttering Jump city's streets. Cutting edge holograms disguise it as a black mustang with pinstripes on the sides, allowing the passengers within to travel with a minimum of notice.

"So, why's this guy after you anyway?" Cyborg asks, glancing away from the road momentarily to look at his passenger. Raven sets her jaw and looks out the passenger window, wondering the same thing.

"I'm not sure. It might have something to do with the book, though." An involuntary shudder passes through the girl as she remembers the cursed tome.

"So, he said his name is Rorek. Does that mean anything to you?" Cyborg queries, attempting to gain as much insight into the situation as possible. Raven sighs and looks at him. He had brought out another pair of his holograph rings and appears as a 19 year old in a clean black t-shirt and slightly baggy blue jeans. Seeing him without the familiar circuitry startles her momentarily, but she shakes her head and drops her eyes after a moment.

"Rorek of Nul was the sorcerer in the book who fought the dragon Malchior. I didn't get to the part where the fight ended, but I figured that Rorek would have been long since dead; if the dragon hadn't killed him, then old age should have." Cyborg nods as he makes a left turn.

"That story was, what? Two hundred years old?"

"Try five. Or more, I didn't exactly carbon date the thing." Cyborg whistles softly at her correction.

"So how did he last this long; and why does he look like he can pass for twenty five?" Raven shakes her head and looks out the window again.

"That's one of the questions I'm going to ask."

"Right, but first we need to find him. Do you know what he means by 'under the wings of the Fallen Angel?'" Raven shakes her head and scans the scenery. Despite being on full alert, the sorceress can't pick up any indication of magic or any kind of hint as to where the rouge spell caster. Something catches her eye and she looks behind the car suddenly.

"Wait, I think I saw something. Go back." Cyborg nods and marks the spot on his navigator. He finds a place to turn around and slowly approaches the area from the other direction. Raven looks around the area again.

They are in an old part of the city, populated by decades old shops and run-down apartments. This part of the city seems to have been modeled after old Britain, the surviving building facades have a Victorian or Gothic theme. Raven spots a corner shop café with a hanging sign that shows a black feather lying on script that causes her eyes to open wide.

_Fallen Angel Café._

"I think that might be our hint. Let's find a place to park." Cyborg nods as he pulls around the corner to find an open parking spot.

Raven steps out of the car and looks around. She feels as if she has been to the area before, but her mind quickly shakes the feeling and focuses on the issue of Hunter. Her cloak flows around her as she glides towards the door of the café, muffled sounds and incense flowing out from the establishment. Her discomforting feeling of deja vu grows until she opens the door.

"Welcome back, hun. I see that ya brought a friend this time." A familiar southern drawl greets the sorceress, who stands in the doorway too shocked to move. A nudge from her friend sends her back into motion, quickly vacating the doorstep and allowing the taller teenager to enter the shop. Cyborg looks around and nods.

"You've been here before, Rae?" he asks, taking in the scents and ambient darkness. Raven nods as she drops her hood.

"Once. I found it by landmarks though, so I didn't recognize it at first." Raven looks around and notices that the shop is about as full as it was the day she stopped by before. She looks at Angela and spots the same emerald pendant that she wore before. Raven turns to her companion and indicates the hostess. "This is Angela, she works here and is very nice for conversation. Angela, this is Cy-"

"Victor. Nice to meet you, Angela. If Rae says that you're good to go, then you're definitely good in my book." Cyborg offers his right hand, which Angela takes and shakes firmly while smiling up at the disguised teen.

"It's a pleasure ta meet ya. I'd guess that yer a coffee guy, right?" Angela starts to usher the two to a booth seat, but Raven stops her for a moment.

"Actually, Angela…" Raven's words are halted by Angela's sad smile.

"I know, yer here for business today, right? Take a seat and I'll be right with ya. Besides, a nice cup of tea would probably be good for yer nerves." Raven sits down and looks at Cyborg with a shrug.

"She's…" Cyborg waves his hand in the air, trying to pull out the right word.

"Nice. I know." Raven looks at the counter, where Angela is mixing up a blend of tea and pouring a cup of coffee at the same time. "She seems to welcome everyone equally, regardless of who they are."

"There's a reason for that, Lady Raven." Rorek's smooth, musical voice causes the pair to jump in their seats. Raven looks at the source to find the white-haired sorcerer walking towards their booth from a stairwell that is hidden by the bathrooms.

Cyborg rushes to his feet, left hand going to his right arm to prepare his cannon. Raven stops him with an outstretched hand as Angela places their cups in front of them.

"I'll have to ask ya not to fight. Ya see, this place is neutral ground," Angela straightens up and looks the teenagers in the eye. "Think of it as a sanctuary, and I'm its keeper." Something in the woman's look startles the half-robotic teen, and he backs down. The black-haired woman turns her emerald glare onto the sorcerer. "And you, I'll be asking that ya not pester my customers. They're as safe from ya here as ya are from them." Rorek smiles slightly and bows to the hostess.

"But of course, madam. I had no intention of provoking them unduly." His smile widens as Angela hits him in the head with a rag.

"Watch it, you. I know yer tricks, ya know," she says with a smile. Her smile spreads into a grin when she turns to see the shocked looks on the teenagers' faces. "Well, ye've business to attend to, so I'll be leaving ya be." She pats Raven's shoulder as she walks by, and winks slyly at the girl before disappearing behind the counter again.

"I find that you continue to surprise me, Lady Raven," Rorek's words snap Raven's attention back onto the situation. "I did not expect you to call on me quite so soon. Are you well? I know that those enhancements you granted to your companions drew you to the very brink of your endurance." He takes a step closer to the sorceress, but is intercepted by Cyborg.

"Look, Hunter, Rorek, whoever you are, I don't like what you are doing; we've come to find out just what exactly your game is. So, don't give us any bull and we'll end this quietly." Rorek's smile lessens as Cyborg continues speaking, until it is a mere shadow of what it was a moment before. He fixes the teenager with an icy stare.

"Mr. Stone, I believe? You are most definitely a testament to your father's genius." Rorek's words stun Cyborg into silence and rivet Raven's attention. "I understand that if he hadn't fitted you with those prosthetics after your car accident seven years ago, then you probably would be dead. He truly is a man of technical genius." Cyborg's eyes go wide as the sorcerer's words sink in.

"How do you…" Cyborg's whisper can barely be heard.

"It is not hard to determine your story. In fact, the personal history of almost all of your team is not that hard to find, if you know where to look." Rorek looks around and indicates the booth. "Perhaps we should take a seat? Unless of course you would like to continue this conversation standing in the middle of a café." The teenagers look around to find that they are quickly becoming the center of attention in the small establishment.

Raven quickly takes a seat, and is joined by her companion. Rorek sits across from the pair, and looks between them.

"So, why have you come searching for me?" he asks, his crystalline eyes piercing Raven's.

"I- I have questions to ask you," Raven's voice gets caught in her throat under the intensity of the sorcerer's gaze. She feels as if he is searching her soul for something, and instinctively strengthens her mental barriers.

"This is understandable. My actions towards you and your team have not been very open; however I do have my reasons. I am willing to answer your questions, but I may reserve some answers for a later date." Angela walks over carrying a steaming cup of some green liquid. "You have my thanks, madam. As always, your service is without equal." The hostess sets the cup in front of Rorek with a smile and looks at the group.

"See, isn't it so much better this way? Ya'll have a common goal, right? No need to fight," Angela's rambling dies off when Rorek looks at her and shakes his head. "Well, like I said before, I'm here if ya need me."

Raven watches the hostess leave, her thoughts racing. She pulls out the card that had brought her here and sets it on the table.

"Why did you give me this?" she asks, watching the sorcerer for his reaction. Rorek picks the card up with a smile.

"To bring you here, of course. I needed to confront you in a place that you would feel safe enough to listen." His icy blue eyes meet with hers for a moment, and then shift to the side.

"Why? You claim to be hunting me, and then you help my team and me. You abduct us, only to deliver our greatest enemy into our hands. What are you up to?" Rorek sighs and places his hands on the table. He scrutinizes them, as if searching for some imagined imperfection.

"I find myself in a very unique position, Lady. I am hunting you. Rather, not you specifically, but those of your kind," his eyes rise slowly, and tentatively lock onto hers. "I have successfully defeated a number of similar ancestries to you already, and when I found out about you, I had initiated my operations on the assumption that you would be like them." The sorcerer breaks eye contact and looks out the window, watching the people bustle past.

"The first that I had fought was little more than a primal entity. He had completely surrendered his humanity to the demon within, and the others were little better." He looks back at the pair of crime fighters and continues. "The destruction and evil that those creatures had unleashed was unimaginable." He takes a sip of his green drink and looks Raven in the eye.

"Lady Raven, I find that you are unique. You are the only one who has taken her heritage and used it to fight the darkness, rather than succumb to it entirely. You intrigue me."

"Why are you hunting demon spawn?" Cyborg asks, interested by Rorek's story.

"I have been hired to do so. That is what hunters do. We are contacted with a target, and we hunt it down." Raven looks up from her thoughts and scrutinizes Rorek, who looks back with mild interest.

"Are you _the_ Rorek of Nul?" Her question sends a smile to Rorek's face.

"The fact that you know the reference proves that you are the next stop in my personal quest. I can safely assume that you have read the book with that infernal dragon in it. I had read of the incident three years ago, but had only hoped that it was true. Do you know the book's whereabouts?" His face becomes slightly hopeful.

"You said that Malchior was your enemy, why? The book never said why you were fighting in the first place." Rorek's face immediately shifts into an impenetrable mask.

"That, my lady, is one of the answers that I will reserve for myself. This is a personal quest that has lead me along these last five centuries and I will keep it personal." He finishes his drink in a single gulp and stands.

"Lady Raven, Mister Stone, I thank you for your time, but I have other issues to attend to. It appears that the enemy is on the move again, and your team is the target." The white-haired sorcerer reaches into a pocket and pulls out a small packet, which he hands to Raven.

"Mix this in with your drink and you will find that your energy will return much faster than normal. I had to supply you with my own energy earlier to keep you from falling past the brink, and you will need your rest for the coming storm." He looks out the window and turns. "By your leave." He bows slightly and walks towards the cleverly hidden stairs.

"Wait!" Cyborg's voice halts the sorcerer's departure. "How much do you know about us?" Rorek nods and reaches into another pocket.

"This should explain everything to you. Perhaps it will allow you to know your enemy better." Rorek withdraws a miniature data disk and tosses it to the crime fighter before turning away again. Cyborg catches the disk gingerly, and looks at Raven.

"What's his problem?" he asks absently. Raven shakes her head as she finishes her tea and stands, pocketing the package that Rorek had given her. The two place a few bills on the table and depart the shop.

The two walk silently, thinking on the sorcerer's words and warning when something catches Cyborg's attention. When he discovers the source, he groans and shakes his head. Raven looks up in confusion.

"What is it?" Cyborg indicates the door to a bar that displays a television showing footage of the Titan's chase of Plasmus. The announcer's words float out of the stinking place to cause the pair even more distress.

"And here we have footage of the so-called 'crime fighting team' escorting a known criminal through a residential area." The camera zooms out, revealing that it was an aerial camera that had captured the footage. Raven groans when the scene plays out until Rorek detains the purple blob. "And here we see the miscreants attack the true hero of the day, this mystery man who manages to take out both the criminal known as Plasmus, _and_ the Teen Titans in a span of a few minutes."

The camera shows in brutal detail the skill with which the sorcerer had dealt with the team, and the announcer continues to play the scene with the Titans playing the role as the villains in a play. The camera stops as Rorek catches Raven after having calmed her demonic rage. The picture zooms in on his face, which displays an unexplainable amount of tenderness.

"Our mystery man even has a chivalrous side, even for his opponents. Surely this footage shows us who this city's true heroes and villains are." The screen cuts to the announcer, with a still frame of the zoomed in picture of Rorek's face behind him.

"This is worse than we thought. We need to get back to the tower now." Cyborg turns to Raven, who is swaying on her feet. Fearing another outbreak of rage, the robotic man places a hand on his friend. "Raven, don't worry about it. We'll get this- oh shit!" Raven's knees buckle, and Cyborg catches her before she hits the ground. He instantly scans her vitals, and curses under his breath.

"Dammit, girl! You've got a fever!" He lifts his sorceress friend and cloaks her in a hologram to disguise her from prying eyes. "Robin is so gonna kill me when he finds out that I let you go out like this. Girl, I've a mind to kill you myself when you get better." He quickly makes his way back to the car and lays the girl down on the back seat before nearly jumping into the driver's seat and making quick time for the Titan's Tower, muttering profanities under his breath the entire time.

* * *

A man waits in a dark corner of a cluttered room, the sounds of busy people echoing to him from elsewhere. He nearly shouts as another figure materializes in front of him, smelling strongly of sulfur. Recognizing the newcomer, the man bows deeply and lowers his head.

"Get up, there is no time for this foolishness here," the new man snaps. He looks around and nods. "Give me an update, Brother Dees." The man called Dees nods, and pulls a folder out of the clutter and hands it to the man.

"The sorcerer will provide an easy way for us to pull the public's favor from them, and this tactic will alienate him from the team so they will be unable to join together against us. We also have reports that Raven has been in contact with the sorcerer." The sulfur man nods as he opens the folder to find pictures paper clipped to a written report.

"Good. And now that the sorcerer has made contact with her, she will be unable to stand the way that her 'boy wonder' will treat someone she can so clearly see as an ally. I like it. Now, go quickly or you will be missed." The man looks through the folder as he talks.

"Trigon's will be done," Brother Dees states reverently as he bows again before departing the presence of the other, who is staring intently at a picture of Rorek catching Raven.

"Indeed, Trigon's will be done. And it will be done, sister, whether you know of it or not."

* * *

So, I hope this got your juices flowing. On a bright note, I will have more time in the forseeable future to get more done on this story. Unfortunately, that won't happen until the end of the month.

Also, expect updates to be rather sporadic as I prepare for a six month deployment. I will continue to work on the story, and hopefully I will be able to set up a means to update the story while I'm gone, but I don't anticipate anything spectacular. If I can't work something out I will update during my brief visits to land.


	10. Chapter 10

I apologize again for the extended wait; work has kept me rather occupied as of late.

Once again, I must thank all those who have read and reviewed the last chapters; I truly appreciate your comments and your attention.

**I do not own the Teen Titans**/end disclaimer.

Also, kudo points for the first person to identify what episode Raven's memory bit is from.

* * *

The world is on fire.

Raven finds herself deep within a fiery apocalypse, lost and without direction. Her thoughts flee from her before she can read them, and she is assaulted by countless images. A pretty brunette in rough, homespun clothes leans in for a kiss, to be replaced by a smiling Azar in a shining white robe. Raven reels, unable to center herself as she is bombarded by images both familiar and foreign.

_What's happening?_ she wonders in a brief moment of respite. An image of a medieval town strikes her as familiar, despite the fact that she knows she has never been there or seen it before. _What are these images coming from?_

She looks around and sees her past mixed with other images, all tossed together within the flames of the hell around her. Her breath comes in ragged gasps as she tries to find a path between the flames, and comes to dead end after dead end. As she backtracks from one failed turn, she trips and falls headlong into a towering flame. She sucks in her breath and flinches, expecting the worst.

_Raven runs into the video store, following closely behind Cyborg and Robin, to hear the last of a fat red-head's speech to a terrified sales clerk._

"_And that, my little tribble, is why you must be destroyed!" He pushes a button on his gothic themed remote with too many buttons, and a hovering television closes in on the terrified girl, who screams as she scrambles over the cashier's counter. Cyborg makes quick work of the terrorizing machine with a short blast from his sonic cannon._

"_Well, well, well. If it isn't my old arch nemesis... ses. The Teen Titans!" The red-head claims as he jumps from aisle-top to aisle-top to stand before the grouped team._

"_Um... Yeah." Beast boy affirms before turning to Cyborg. "Who is this guy? Cyborg shrugs in response. The red-headed boy clicks another button on his overly large remote and the TV screens light up with images of himself._

"_I am the Master of Monsters. I am your darkest nightmares come to life. I am... Control Freak!" the televisions declare as the boy strikes a pose._

"_A couch potato with a souped-up remote. I'm petrified." Raven states sarcastically._

"_You will be, you will be," Control Freak replies as he pushes yet another button on his remote._

A hand reaches into the flame to pull the bewildered Raven out. Raven looks up to find that she is looking at herself, only this is not a memory.

"It would not do for you to get lost in your own memories," Raven's doppelganger states as she brushes ash from her yellow robe.

"Logic. If you are here, then that must mean that..."

"You are within your own mind? Yes, but there is more to this than that. You may have noticed that some of these memories are not yours." The yellow-clad avatar indicates a flame holding a memory of a dark cave with glittering treasure within it.

"Where did they come from, and why is this place on fire?" Raven asks as she skirts around the flame.

"The answer to the one is the solution to the other. Follow me." Logic replies cryptically as she leads Raven deeper into the inferno.

Eventually, the flames die out, and the hellish scenery dissipates into a nearly silent void. Raven follows the yellow-clad avatar closely, not willing to become a victim to her own twisted mental pathways.

"Where are we now?" Raven asks after an indeterminate period of time. Logic shakes her head and leads on silently. Raven becomes aware of a subsonic buzzing that she can't so much hear as feel that gets progressively more pronounced the further Logic leads her into the darkness.

The blue-clad sorceress discovers suddenly that the darkness isn't quite as complete as she once thought as she is approaching a large silver-blue orb that is emitting a soft, pleasing light. The buzzing here reverberates in Raven's chest, making hard for her to breathe, and she realizes that the large orb is not the only source of light here. A small golden ball appears to be attempting to insert itself into the larger silver orb.

"What is that?" Raven asks in awe of the display.

"Duh, it should be obvious, idiot," an orange-clad avatar states from under the dancing orbs. Raven looks over to find a gathering of every one of her personified emotions.

"You only say that because Logic told you already. Don't be such a prick, Rude," the green-clad Valor chides her companion as a pink blur erupts from the crowd to envelop Raven in a hug that Starfire would be envious of.

"Raven! I missed you! You don't come and visit anymore, so I've been hanging out with Timid, but she's not really all that much fun..." Happiness's comments draw Raven's attention to the grey-clad version of herself standing away from the others, huddled deep within her cloak. Raven shakes herself free of the clinging emotion and turns back to Logic.

"So, what is it?" she asks again. Logic lowers the hood of her cloak, looks up, and takes a deep breath.

"That is your soul." Logic looks at Raven with a slight smile on her face. "Not quite as dark as you thought it would be, is it?" Raven's eyes widen at the avatar's statement, and she stares at the silver orb above her in awe. She flinches involuntarily as the golden orb crashes against the silver, sending sparks of light and a deep, thundering boom through the surrounding darkness.

"What is that golden orb, then? I know I don't have two souls, so..." Raven asks, unable to take her eyes off the swirling orbs.

"You know how you spent all your energy to enhance the others?" Logic asks. Raven nods, she knew that she had made a gamble, and is glad that it worked out in the end. "Well, you spent more energy than you thought. So much that you were unable to keep your soul attached to your body." Raven looks at the yellow-clad avatar in shock.

"What?! That's not possible; if that were the case, I'd be..."

"Dead? Normally, yes. However, Rorek came in at the last moment and transferred a portion of his energy into you, to serve as a temporary anchor for your soul until you could get your powers back." Logic waves a hand at the golden orb. "What you see is the result. With his power came a portion of his own soul; much as you imbue objects with a piece of yourself as you manipulate them. Now the two entities; your soul, and his soul fragment are fighting for supremacy. The chaos from before is the result of the clash."

"So how do I stop it?"

"Geez, you really are an idiot, aren't you? Stop yammering over there and just kick the damn ball out of here!" Rude comments as she walks towards Raven. "I mean, even I could tell that that thing needed to go when I first saw it."

"Destroy it and kill that bastard for daring to trespass on this place! He dared to touch us! He shall die a slow and bloody death for his insolence!" Rage's roars can be heard from the back of the crowd, where she is just as isolated as Timid, but for obviously different reasons. Raven turns to the others.

"Who let her loose?" she asks. The others shrug. "Very well. I'll see what I can do."

"I should inform you that you will find things a little different than normal," Logic states as the other avatars look on in anticipation.

"What do you mean?"

"Above you is your soul; we, in our myriad forms, represent your heart; and you are your consciousness. Mind, heart, and soul united for a single purpose. You are more powerful now than you even know. Keep that in mind." With these final words, Logic departs for the group of avatars observing the events, and Raven watches her go.

Raven focuses on the dancing orbs above her and takes a deep breath, finding her center, and reaches out with her power.

* * *

"When will Friend Raven become well?" Starfire asks for the umpteen millionth time. She has found Robin on the roof, where his brooding has taken him.

"I don't know, Star. She's never been sick this long before, normally her powers heal her before we even notice," the worry in Robin's voice prompts Starfire to wrap her arms around him in an attempt to comfort him. She knows that the last two days has brought him nearly to the brink, and she worries for her companion.

"I am sure she will become well soon; Raven has never allowed herself be beaten by anything before." Starfire states confidently as she rests her chin upon Robin's spiky hair. Robin leans into the alien princess and relaxes a fraction.

"You're right. She very well might be the... " his sentence is cut off as the tower is engulfed in an aura darker than midnight. A chill spreads through the mid-afternoon air that sets the teenagers' breaths to fog as four red eyes appear from within the aura and a giant black bird soars into the sky, taking the inky darkness with it. Within moments, the pair's communicators chime. Robin opens his to find a hysteric Cyborg on the line.

"Guys, get your asses into the infirmary NOW!" The two crime fighters have descended two flights of stairs by the time Cyborg has finished speaking and cuts the transmission.

Robin nearly kicks in the door to the infirmary, and runs face first into a wide-mouthed Beast Boy. The boy wonder quickly picks himself up and looks at Cyborg.

"What happened?" he asks, then his gaze is drawn by what has caught the rest of his teammate's attention, and his jaw drops.

Raven stands before the infirmary bed, her white leotard shining in the sunlight that streams from the open window; her eyes closed as the slight breeze plays with her long violet hair. She takes a deep breath, and her leotard slowly shifts back to its normal navy hue.

"Friend Raven! You are well! This is cause for celebration; I shall prepare the feast of Gralthar!" Starfire exclaims happily, and dashes from the room before anyone can dissuade her.

Raven smiles slightly and sits back on the infirmary bed, her attention on something in her hand.

"So, uh, Raven... What's with the hair?" Beast Boy asks while trying to conceal his blush. Raven looks up with a confused look.

"What do you mean?" she asks. He points and she looks down to find her normally short hair reaching down to her waist. Her eyebrow rises as she runs the hair through her fingers. "I guess it might be part of what I did to wake up." She looks around at her teammates. "How long was I out?" she asks.

"You've been unconscious for two and a half days," Cyborg answers. "You had a fever of 102 the first day, but that died down by yesterday afternoon." Raven nods silently, her gaze returning to her right hand.

"What's that?" Robin asks.

"It's what caused me to get sick," Raven replies without looking up.

"You should get rid of it!" Beast Boy exclaims.

"It's also what saved my life," she says as she opens her hand to reveal a small amber crystal resting in the palm of her hand.

* * *

Rorek walks through the city, mind wandering as he approaches his informant's meeting place. He passes an antique dealership and shakes his head at the 'unique artifacts circa 1500 France.' Determined to stay low, he passes the phony dealership and hurries on to his destination.

The quiet bookstore is as deserted as usual, leaving the sorcerer free to browse the shelves until he feels a familiar presence enter the store. He turns to see a nondescript man wearing a simple business suit approach him.

Rorek smiles and places the book he was browsing through back on the shelf before he returns the mans greeting.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Hunter," the man says. "I have more information that you might find interesting." He pulls an envelope from within his coat and hands it to the white-haired sorcerer.

"I was under the impression that all the major players had been disposed of already. Has another cropped up in their place?" Rorek asks as he opens the envelope.

"You might say that," the man replies with a hint of a smile. The smile becomes increasingly evident as he watches the sorcerer's expression change as he reads the printout. Rorek folds the papers, and places then into the pocket of his slacks before withdrawing a ring with a dazzling blue stone set upon it. He hands the ring to the informant with a nod.

"I appreciate the information. Once again, I find that your assistance is invaluable, Mr. Dees."

"I am pleased to hear that, Mr. Hunter. More than you know." Dees replies with a smile.

* * *

Alright, here's where things really start to pick up. I hope you are enjoying the ride so far, but the real action is about to begin soon.

First thing, though; I need some names. I've got a few ideas myself, but I'd like some input from you faithful readers. I need four names; two for guys, one girl, and one that could be either.

Also, my vacation is about to begin here shortly, so you can expect a rapid-fire series of updates soon. ('Soon' as in 'in a week or two')


	11. Chapter 11

I'm back, but not from outer space. My deployment is over, and I should have more time to spend on my writing here in the next few weeks. I'm sorry for the long wait, and I'm very thankful for all you who are still watching and reading.

Without further ado, here is the latest chapter of Evolution!

* * *

"What do you mean? How could that thing save your life _and_ make you sick?" Beast Boy asks.

Raven sighs as she rolls the amber crystal around in her hand. "You remember our fight with Slade?" she asks. The three boys nod. She looks at Beast Boy. "You won't remember this, because Slade knocked you out before it happened, but I used my energy to enhance Robin, Starfire and Cyborg. I granted Robin with the strength of the earth; Starfire with the speed of the wind; and Cyborg with the power of lightning."

"However, doing so shortly after nearly releasing my demonic form during our fight with Ro- Hunter spent all of my energy." She looks down at the stone again. It pulses slightly, like a miniature heart in her hand. "As I lay there, unconscious, my soul started to leave my body. I didn't have the energy to keep it in anymore." She looks up to see the meaning of her words dawn on the three teens. She shakes her head slightly at the looks of horror on their faces. "At the very last moment, Hunter came and imbued me with a portion of his own energy, and left this," she indicates the crystal, "as a temporary anchor for my soul."

"What is it?" Robin asks, his voice quiet. Raven smiles slightly as she looks at the stone again.

"It is a piece of _his_ soul."

"WHAT?!" Beast Boy and Cyborg exclaim.

"What is the equation, friends?" Starfire asks as she enters the infirmary carrying a large bowl of glowing blue gelatin. The boys look at her in confusion.

"She means 'what is the problem?'" Raven translates.

"Oh. Well, Raven just told us that that Hunter character saved her life by giving her a piece of his soul," Beast boy replies. Starfire gasps, but Raven's expression stops any comment she was about to say. The alien princess visibly gathers herself before offering her dark friend the wiggling blue goo.

"Please, partake of the joyous feast with me; it is guaranteed to do the lifting of the spirits!" Starfire grabs a generous spoonful of the concoction and shoves it into Raven's mouth as she opens it to decline. Raven's eyes widen in shock and she gulps involuntarily, swallowing the mouthful whole. Starfire takes a cautious step back, and the boys fall deathly silent.

"Star, are you sure that was a good idea?" Beast boy asks, but the girl's attention is entirely on the sorceress. Raven coughs slightly and looks at the group.

"It's all right. She's just trying to cheer me up." Raven looks at Star with a slight smile. "Thank you. That was… surprising. Not really all that bad, after you get around the first taste, actually." The boy's jaws drop.

"What's in that stuff?" Cyborg asks. "It's gotta have some sort of super juice in it to make Rae actually compliment Star's cooking!" Starfire beams as the boys take tentative tastes of the blue stuff.

"Actually, it contains blarfrnorf, strognaf, and sugar." She replies. "I was surprised at how easily it is to come by these things on this planet; usually they are quite rare back on Tameran."

"What's-"

"Don't ask." Raven interrupts Beastboy before she finds out exactly what it is that the redheaded alien force-fed her. She takes another bite of the blue goo, feeling her energy return as she does so, and turns towards her friends. "How long did you say I was out for?"

"Almost three days. We were really worried about you," Robin replies. Raven's eyes widen in surprise.

"Nothing happened since then?" she asks, her head tilted to the side in thought.

"No; the news downplayed our capture of Slade, and there haven't been any real incidents since then. There've been a few crimes, but nothing the police couldn't handle."

Raven stands and stretches. "I'm going to do a little research; something's been bothering me about this whole situation. I'll let you guys know if I find anything." The others nod and stand. "I… want to thank you all for looking out for me. It means more to me than you know." Robin looks the sorceress in the eye.

"Raven, we're a team. That's what teammates do." Raven smiles sheepishly and nods.

"I know." The others trail out of the infirmary, but Raven stops Cyborg at the door. "Did you look through that cd that Hunter gave you?" she asks. Cyborg nods, a somber look falling onto his face. "What was on it?"

"Come with me," he replies, leading her to a console in the corner. He types a few command lines, and a group of files pop onto the screen.

"I downloaded the files on his disk, and hid them in my programming lists so that Robin wouldn't find them. You aren't going to believe what they hold." Cyborg steps away and lets Raven take a seat in front of the screen. There are five folders, each labeled with the name of one of the Titans. Raven clicks on Cyborg's, opening the folder. Her eyes go wide as she sees digital copies of Cyborg's early applications to college, his father's dissertation on advanced prosthetics, and the police report on the fatal accident that caused his current condition. Following those are snippets of news reports on his activities while in the Titans, and side notes from web reports that detail his abilities and achievements.

"You don't mean…" she starts.

"Yeah, each one is like that. Almost our entire history there, from Robin's training with Batman, to Beastboy's disease that allows him to change shape. Even a brief synopsis of Tamaran from Starfire. And that's not all. Look at this," Cyborg says as he clicks on Raven's folder.

A dozen pop-ups appear on the screen, each one detailing some facet of Raven's life. The sorceress spies an occult writing that proceeds to explain the meaning of the prophecy concerning her birth, and the events that would lead to the release of her father upon the earth; she quickly closes it and scans the next- a letter from what seems to be a friend explaining that a peaceful dimension had opened its doors to all who wished to join, but they had accepted the spawn of Scath within them.

Raven's breath quickens as she reads the files. Nearly her entire existence was held within; her mother's flight to Azarath, to Raven's expulsion of Trigon nearly three years ago, and news clippings of her achievements with the Titans as well.

"How does he have this?" she whispers in horror. "If he knew all this, then why?"

"Why what?" Cyborg asked.

"Why didn't he kill me? He knew that I was the cause of Trigon's release. Just because I defeated my father once doesn't mean that I won't want to turn to the darkness. Demons fight amongst each other constantly; if I were in his position, I wouldn't trust someone like me. The event with Plasmus would have made me certain of that. But he treats me with more kindness than anyone but you do. I don't understand it."

"I'm not sure, but-" A siren cuts of Cyborg's statement, and he quickly exits out of the screen, hiding the information within the depths of his computer code once more. Robin's voice can be heard from the hall, calling the team to answer the summons. Cyborg turns to Raven and smiles sadly. "I guess this'll have to wait until later."

The pair quickly join the others and speed to the site of the disturbance that called them.

"What's going on?" Beastboy asks from the backseat of Cyborg's car.

"There's a report of strange creatures attacking people in the town center; apparently normal methods are not effective against them. The police are requesting assistance, and we're the ones that are going to provide it."

Raven listens to the exchange through her communicator in silence, flying high above the moving forms of Cyborg's car and Robin's motorcycle. Her senses sweep ahead of her friends, searching for any disturbance, while her thoughts race; stirred by the images hidden within Rorek's disk. A pulse of energy from her right hand makes her realize that she still holds the amber soul shard. As she begins to question the wisdom of bringing it with her, it pulses again, and a flash of a vision passes before her eyes. She sees the city in inverted colors, with a dark cloud hanging over a section of downtown; and glaring red flashes of lightning strike between the towering buildings. As quickly as the vision appears, it is gone; leaving Raven disoriented. She quickly changes direction and speeds toward the nearest lightning strike that she saw, her long hair whipping back in the wind of her flight.

"Raven! Where are you going?" Robin calls, noticing that she is no longer following the group.

"I… There's something wrong over here, I'm not quite sure what it is, but I need to find out," the sorceress replies through the biting wind. Her target quickly comes into view, and her intuition is rewarded by the sight of pedestrians running away screaming from a hidden horror. Raven tucks the soul shard into a hidden compartment on her belt and glides to a stop, searching for the source of the disruption. Her attention is drawn by a familiar presence; one she wishes she could forget. Her eyes fall on the shadows of an alley and her breath catches in her throat as she sees what is menacing the citizens of her fair city.

Crouching on four gangly legs, the horror growls in a deep and resonant voice; bringing to mind the terrors of childhood, and the wish of such simple fears. The creature's fangs drip acid onto the pavement, pocking the cement with tiny little holes as the liquid drips slowly from canines long enough to pierce a man's arm. A terror-black coat and a rusted-flame mane ridging the hellhound's spine complete the nightmare. The infernal creature looks up and spots Raven, issuing a roar of challenge; and shattering the glass of nearby windows in the process.

"Dear Azar help us," Raven's whispered prayer is nearly lost in the resulting chaos.

* * *

So, now the pieces start to fall together. Perhaps we might even see the face of the man in the shadows soon. Who knows? Oh, right, I do. XP

Please read and review, it's been a while since I wrote for the story, and I would like to know if I still have the touch.


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